


Business 201

by bookworm03



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-20 19:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 54,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4799840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm03/pseuds/bookworm03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben's a grad student who's a teaching assistant for a business course and Leslie's none too happy with a grade he gives her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Except When She Does

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fun little fic that I thought of yesterday when I felt like writing something fluffy. I have plans for a couple more chapters if people would be interested :).

The knock at the open door to his shoebox of an office made Ben Wyatt look up, twirling his red pen in his hand and turning to face his visitor: a petite very blonde woman with big blue eyes that couldn’t be ignored, wearing an Indiana University sweatshirt. 

“Are you Ben Wyatt?” 

He nodded carefully, setting his pen down and swivelling in his chair. He was used to freshman coming into his office a lot to whine about their marks, but this girl didn’t seem like a freshman, even if she was bright-eyed and rosy cheeked. 

“I’m in your Business class or well, Professor Anderson’s business class. We had a test last week and he said I could discuss my grade with you.” 

“You’re a sophomore?” 

“Senior,” she pushed into the room purposefully. “I’m taking business for an elective credit. I’m a History major.” 

“Right,” he leaned back. Her lips pursed together tightly as if she was psyching herself up for something and he took the opportunity to indicate to a chair opposite him. 

“Have a - “ 

“You gave me a 59!” Her hands flailed and her eyes bulged even wider and he tilted his head. “I don’t get 59s on tests. I’ve never had a 59 on anything in my life. I’m going to graduate summa cum laude!” 

“Uh, who are you?” 

“Leslie Knope.” 

“Uh huh,” he held out a hand. “Can I see it?” 

She reached into her book bag, thrusting the booklet at him. He stared at the red pen that was definitely his writing and noticed he’d hardly added more than a word or two per page, which was unusual even for him. Why had he been so…he flipped to the back and saw her grade circled. Beneath it he’d written “Make a decision.” and underlined it three times. Now he remembered this test. He recalled reading the list of fundraising options she’d given at 2am, including but not limited to car washes, bake sales, silent auctions and a harvest festival (which had an addendum about that being a great way to bring in revenue for an entire town, not just one single business). 

He looked up and her nostrils were practically flaring, like any minute she might start growling at him. 

“So you, Leslie Knope, don’t get a 59…” he began. 

“Except, it kind of looks like you did,” he tossed the booklet onto the desk with a thud that ignited her. 

“You’re a jerk!” She snapped. “You just like being a hard ass and giving people crappy marks because you’re a crappy grad student teaching assistant who probably doesn't care about anything or anybody and you just want to make - ”

He held up a hand and surprisingly, the move worked and she stopped ranting. 

“I’m a jerk because I gave you the grade you deserved?” 

“How did I deserve that! I studied for a week and I did all the right steps and I didn’t even screw up my math - ”

“It’s a case study based course, Ms. Knope,” he began simply. “So a) if you go to class and pay attention you shouldn’t need to study for a week and b) you were given a problem and you didn’t make a decision.” 

He flipped open the booklet and pointed to the page he wanted. 

“This company had a bad year and was in a deficit and you needed to cut back somewhere but you didn’t, you suggested a fundraiser to raise money.” 

“See?! I did make a decision,” she insisted, glaring at him so hard he thought she might legitimately burn a hole in him. “I found a way to raise the money so I wouldn’t have to cut - ”

“But that wasn’t the question; that wasn’t the test. You basically just assumed if you held your little imaginary fundraiser you’d cover the deficit and not have to cut anything. The test was to work out the numbers in this scenario and then choose one of those options and explain why. There wasn’t a wrong answer, but you didn’t give me an answer. You tried to skirt the system and that doesn’t work.” 

He didn’t know why he sounded so angry (okay, he might have an idea), but once he started he couldn’t stop. 

“You can’t just…cut jobs because you feel like it. Not until you’ve tried every possible - ”

“It was a test, Leslie,” he drummed his knuckles against the paper. “You get that no actual jobs were being cut, right?” 

“But it was supposed to be a real world scenario. And that’s what I would do in real life. I’d find a way to avoid the cuts.” 

“Right,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like this argument wasn’t going to get anywhere. “Look Leslie, I can’t change your grade. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone and you really don’t deserve to have it changed anyway.” 

He clucked his tongue. 

“And also, you did screw up your math.” 

“Excuse me?!” She pushed herself up against him, leaning over to see what he was pointing at now. Her hair hit him in the face and she smelled like cotton candy. Whose shampoo smelled like cotton candy?

“I wouldn’t…I would never…” 

Apparently there were a lot of things Leslie Knope would never do. 

Except when she did them. 

“You mixed up your fixed and variable costs,” he tapped his pen against the paper. “And then you screwed up your cost analysis. Did you not read what I wrote?” 

“No,” she grumbled, and the way she shrunk down into her seat made him realize she knew he was right. He bit down on an amused smirk. 

“Look, Ben,” she took a breath. “I can’t get a 59. It’ll screw up my whole GPA.”

“It’s one test, Leslie. It won’t screw up your whole GPA.” 

“But I can’t have a failing mark on my transcript - ”

“Okay, okay,” he held up his hands, unsure why he was about to do what he was about to do. As if he didn’t already have enough on his plate. 

“I can’t change your grade, but I can help you do better next time, how’s that?” 

Those big blue eyes went wide. Leslie Knope was pretty, he decided, if a little insane and way too intense. 

“You’d…tutor me or something?” 

“We can work through some of the stuff you messed up. But you’ll still have to make a decision next time. A real decision with the options presented to you, not with an imaginary fundraiser.” 

“For your information, a Harvest Festival would be awesome and everyone would love it…” He lifted an eyebrow. “But, okay,” she smoothed her palms over the thighs of her jeans. “Okay, fine, that’s…I would appreciate that.” 

He reached across the desk, opening up his day planner and flipping ahead a little. 

“How’s Thursday at 4 work for you?” 

She nodded eagerly and gulped. 

“That would be fine, thank you.” 

He smirked a little, glancing at the door behind her. It took her several seconds to realize what he was getting at. 

“Oh!” she jumped to her feet, almost toppling over the chair in the cramped space. His hand jolted out reflexively as if to steady her, but she grabbed the table and hopped to the other side. 

He handed her her test and she stuck it back in her bag that looked way too full and heavy for someone so little. 

“I will,” she gulped again, cheeks tinging pink in a way that was very different from a few minutes before. “I will see you Thursday then.” 

He nodded, calling “Bye” at her back as she practically ran out the door.


	2. A Jerk and a Blonde Pain in the Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie's POV

“ANN!” Leslie burst into her apartment, slamming the door behind her and running down the hall. She stopped dead when she saw a man’s jacket slung across the back of the couch and flushed when she heard a very telling sound coming from her best friend’s bedroom.

Seconds later Ann ran out, wrapped in her robe with her hair a matted mess and her perfect skin flushed.

“Les, what’s wrong?!”

“N-nothing,” Leslie cleared her throat.

“Nothing important. I just had to tell you some stuff but it can wait until you’re…and I definitely didn’t hear you having sex just now so don’t worry about that!”

“Leslie Knope!” A tall guy wearing just boxers with equally messy hair and piercing blue eyes appeared up behind Ann.

“…Hi. Yes, I’m Lesl - “

“Leslie Knope!” he enunciated carefully, sticking out a hand and locking eyes with her as he shook.

“Hi. And you’re - ”

“Chris Traegar. I was just spending some time with the lovely Ann Perkins. You were in my office this afternoon.”

“I was?”

“Yes! I am officemates and roommates with Ben Wyatt. He said you stopped by.”

“Oh, yes,” she felt Ann staring at her. “Yes, I was talking about my test mark.”

“Fantastic!” He was beaming so wildly it was like staring at the sun. “What a coincidence! I also marked some of the papers for this class but you were in Ben’s half of the alphabet.”

“Right,” she glanced at Ann who lifted an eyebrow. “So, I’m going to go…do something.”

“We’ll talk later, Les?”

Leslie nodded, running into her room and closing the door behind her.

She emerged freshly showered a little while later. Chris had left and Ann was cooking dinner. She turned around, smiling her perfect unicorn smile and handing Leslie a glass of chilled white wine.

“Sorry, was that weird?”

“No!” Leslie blushed. “No, I was making it weird. I’m sorry. I just had a strange day.”

“With that Ben guy?”

She nodded, sliding into one of the chairs and dropping her head to the table with a thud.

“He’sajerk.”

“Aww, honey I’m sorry. So you're stuck with the - ”

“Don’t even say it, Ann. I can’t even say it again. It’s horrible. And he won’t let me try and make it up or anything. He just said we could review some stuff before the next one.”

“Well, that was kind of nice of him. When are you doing that?”

“Thursday,” she groaned into her arm.

“I got a 59 and I’m never going to be President now.”

“Leslie,” Ann slid into the chair beside her and patted her arm. “That’s totally not true. I'm sure lots of presidents got shitty marks once in a while. And this isn’t something you’re used to so you’ll just get a little extra help.”

Leslie sighed, rolling her head to the side so she could see her face. “Oh, Ann, you’re so smart and beautiful and wise. I’ll just try and be positive.”

She lifted her head enough to take a sip of her drink. “Did he talk to Chris about me or something?”

Ann’s mouth twisted curiously and Leslie sat up.

“What? What’s that look for?”

“Nothing. Apparently he just told Chris you came by and you seemed pretty upset about it,” she bit her lip. “What uh, he was a jerk then?”

“Yes. He just didn’t feel bad at all. And he had a stupid face and was wearing stupid plaid and his hair was all messy and stupid.”

“He wasn’t cute?” Leslie hesitated long enough for Ann to pick up on it.

“Ohhhh, I know that face,” she swatted her lightly. “So he’s cute.”

“He’s not…” she shifted, taking another gulp, feeling the cool liquid slide down her throat. “He’s not…it’s irrelevant because he’s mean. He’s Mean Ben.”

“Mean Ben,” Ann repeated, pressing her lips together in a firm line. “Well, after you see Mean Ben on Thursday, don’t forget we have that party at Tom’s and Chris is coming and I am getting wasted because my practicum has been a nightmare and I just need to.”

“Yessss,” Leslie sat up. “Tell me about Chris. When did that happen?”

“Okay, so, I went to the gym with Shauna yesterday to try that kickboxing class - ”

“How was it?”  

“We didn’t go, we just got smoothies and sat outside, but Chris walked out and we started chatting and made plans for today, and we just had a really really good date. He's so hot.” She grinned like the devious little vixen she was. “He’s so nice and positive and I need that after Mark.”

Breaking up with Mark had been rough on Ann for sure. He’d moped around campus for a couple of weeks and every time they saw him he seemed hopeful Ann might change her mind and get back together with him. He would be at the party on Thursday too, Leslie expected. She wondered how he’d feel about Ann bringing someone else. Leslie’d hooked up with him a few years before, actually. As a freshman, before she met Ann. When Mark asked Ann out Leslie had given her the go ahead, even if it did sting a little at first watching them together.

She wasn’t still harbouring feelings for him. Not anymore. She was 98% sure.

Okay, maybe 95%.

“How was the library?” Ann interrupted.

“Oh, great! I finished my paper on Jeannette Rankin.”

“Awesome,” Ann nudged her. “So, you’ll be nice and relaxed when we go to Tom’s and maybe there’ll be some cute guys there you can flirt with. You haven’t had anything like that in a while.”

“Yeah,” Leslie thought wistfully of Justin, a pre-law student who she’d broken up with six months before. He was nice in the beginning, but it hadn’t worked out and she hadn’t dated anyone since. She just hadn’t felt…special in a while. The mundaneness of fall semester was dampening her spirits and she couldn’t deny a little male attention would be nice.

“You're right. It’ll be fun.”

Ann smiled, reaching out an arm. “Come on. Let’s go watch something. Celebrate your paper being done. It’ll take your mind off things.”

Ann was the best roommate/best friend ever. Honestly, Leslie didn’t know what she would’ve done without her.

Especially when, Thursday morning, as Ann was filling up her travel mug, she mentioned offhandedly:

“Hey, Chris said maybe don’t mention politics or running for office to Ben when you see him. I just told him you were really into it and he said that’s kind of a sore spot for him so, yeah.”

“Oh,” Leslie looked up, adding whipped cream to her coffee. “Did he say why?”

“Apparently he was involved in politics or something when he was younger and it ended badly or…” she trailed off because Leslie had shrieked.

“Oh. My. God.”

“What what what?”

“He’s _Benji Wyatt_.” Partridge, Minnesota, mayor at eighteen, she’d clipped his photo out of the newspaper when he’d been elected. She’d stared at the article for hours at a time, brushing her fingers over the ink, as if through osmosis she too could become a teenage mayor.

Someone passionate enough to run for mayor at eighteen had turned into a boring, plaid wearing, business jerk? How?

“Who?” Poor, sweet Ann looked really confused.

“Never mind, I’ll explain later, I have to go to my seminar but THANK YOU ANN, YOU’RE THE BEST EVER.”

She threw her arms around Ann, forgetting her coffee and tearing out the door.

*****

“Hello, _Benji_ ,” she was practically gleeful as she lugged her bag into his office. It felt like this knowledge was power; it gave her something to discuss he couldn’t be smug about. Ben lifted an eyebrow and shifted away from his desk. He was wearing another hideous plaid shirt with a few top buttons undone, but it was slightly less awful than when she first met him.

He sighed when it clicked. “Chris told you?”

“No! He didn’t…I just, he said one thing and I figured it out.”

“Right,” he stood with a creased brow and suddenly she was really regretting mentioning it. He looked pretty frustrated. She hadn’t wanted to really upset him. 

“Sorry!” she added quickly, taking a step back and stumbling with her bag. “I’m sorry, I won’t say anything, I promise. I was actually really jealous of you. Please, don’t make me go, I’m really - ”

“You shouldn’t have been,” he reached down and grabbed his own backpack.

“…What?”

“Jealous of me. You shouldn’t have been. It basically ruined me. That’s why I went into accounting; I’m trying to show everyone I can be responsible and hopefully I’ll be able to run for office again someday.”

“Oh.”

“It’s too cramped in here and Chris’ll be back, do you mind if we go somewhere else?”

“No! No, of course not.”

“Cool,” he ushered her out of the office as she swung her bag over her shoulder and stumbled against the weight.

“What do you have in there?”

“Books. School books, my own books, idea binders; just stuff I use throughout the day.”

“That can’t be good for your back. You’d probably grow another two inches if you stopped wearing that thing.”

She pulled a face and he smirked a little, holding out a hand.

“Give it.”

“I can carry my own bag just fine, thank you.”

“I know you can,” he drawled. “But I’m offering.”

She protested again, but he ignored her, peeling her bag out of her hands and swinging it onto his own back easily as he led her out of the building.

To her surprise they didn’t go to the library, instead taking the elevator to the top floor of one of the smaller buildings. He carried her bag the whole way and while they didn’t really talk much, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was a drizzly day and the mist felt nice on her skin, even though it was doing absolutely nothing for her hair. He quietly asked her about her other classes and why she’d chosen business as an elective.

“I was trying to diversify my course load.”

The corner of his mouth curved upwards as he pulled the door open to a small classroom. It was well lit, but the whole floor seemed to be deserted. She wasted no time spreading out the books while he got her a Coke from the vending machine down the hall.

*****

Two Cokes and three hours later her head was spinning with numbers when something started ringing in his bag. He pulled out a black Nokia and apologized softly as he answered it.

It was cozy sitting in the little room with him, and the more they talked the more they seemed to have in common. She hadn’t avoided discussing politics in the slightest, and they’d ended up arguing lightheartedly about various things. He didn't mention being mayor again, and she didn’t ask him too. She’d get more on that out of him later.

And then he casually pointed out that if she wanted to run for office one day she’d have to learn to make tough decisions in the real world, not just on a test. She hadn’t told him she wanted to run for office. He’d just known somehow. Maybe Ann had mentioned it to Chris but, no, it just felt like Ben figured it out himself. Like he got that just from talking to her.

“Uh, right right, okay, yeah, yeah I’m going. I’m leaving campus now. Alright, see ya.” He hung up his cell phone and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I kept you way longer than I meant to. I’m supposed to go to this party tonight with Chris - ”

“Tom’s party?!” she blurted out.

He gave her a funny look, but nodded.

“Yeah. That one. And it’s uh…it’s pretty late so I should probably get going. But did you wanna plan something for next week to go through the rest of this?”

She gestured so eagerly she almost spilled what was left of her Coke all over the table. He half-smiled, moving the bottle out of range as he closed the books.

“Monday? Same time? Wanna just meet here?”

“Okay. That’d be great. I’ll get the Cokes next time.”

They packed up in silence, but he reached for her bag, wiggling his eyebrows as if daring her to argue. She didn’t.

And his face was not stupid, it was kind of cute, even cuter when he smiled.

“Where’s home for you?”

She told him as he followed her outside. The rain had picked up a little bit and she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, watching the beads of water collect in his rumpled brown hair. His hair was nice. And his eyes reminded her of warm brownies.

_Crap crap crap. Stop it, Leslie._

“I’ll walk with you. It’s on my way…” he glanced sideways at her. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t. Since I’m a jerk.”

“No!” she squeaked. “No, no, I’m…I am sorry I said that. You’re not a jerk. I’m just not used to - ”

“Not being great at something?”

She flushed, averting her eyes and wondering if it was meant as a compliment or if he was speaking from experience.

“So what are these parties like?” his hand gripped her elbow and he steered her out of the way as a cyclist cut a little too close. He waited a beat before releasing her.

“Fun. Wild. Tom’s roommates are brother and sister and their dad’s pretty loaded so they go all out…”

“Good to know,” he side stepped a puddle and hefted her backpack up.

“I think Chris is trying to set me up with some girl he met at the gym.”

And just like that, the little balloon that had been slowly expanding in her chest with every passing second popped.

“Oh! Nice…that’s nice.” She cleared her throat.

“Not really. He always does that. It’s kind of annoying,” he angled his gaze to her and she felt her cheeks get hot. His hair was soaked now because his black member’s only jacket lacked a hood and her fingers twitched a little. She kind of wanted to push it off his face.

“Ann’s ex might be there so I’ll be…we’re friends, so I’ll probably just keep him company if he starts getting weird about her and Chris.”

“You’re going to spend the party babysitting an adult because their ex moved on?”

“He’s a good friend.”

“Well, if you get tired of babysitting, make sure you come say hi to this jerk.”

“I refer to you as Mean Ben.”

“Mean Ben?” he chuckled. “That’s what you’re telling people to call me? That can't be good for me.”

She giggled and he looked amused. “And if you get tired of dating you should come say hi to this not-jerk.”

“I refer to you as the Blonde Pain in the Ass - ”

She hit him playfully and he laughed loudly without a trace of derision. Her stomach twisted with the urge to make him do it again. He just looked so much more relaxed when he laughed.

As they strolled towards her street in the growing darkness Leslie decided that despite his first impression, she liked Ben Wyatt's company; she liked that his hair was messy and she liked how he leaned down to make sure he could hear what she was saying and looked her in the eye when they were talking…

But it was the firm pressure of his hand on her back that she really liked right now. (Why was he touching her? That seemed unnecessary. When had he even done that? Why hadn’t she noticed until now?)

When they finally made it to her building it was twenty after seven. Leslie felt a bit of a mess - emotionally and physically - and she didn’t want to go inside even though it was cold.

“Well thanks for today. I really do appreciate it.”

“Yeah sure,” he shrugged easily. “No problem. Oh, your bag.” he shifted, handing it back to her and damn, now that he’d been carrying it all afternoon it really did feel too heavy.

“You should lose a few of those books. Save yourself a spinal injury.”

_Great minds._

She giggled, “But what if I need to quote Eleanor Roosevelt on the spot, Ben?”

“You’re telling me you’d need a book for that?” he lifted an eyebrow in a way that was cute ( _read_ sexy) and slightly arrogant. Dammit, how did he have her number already?   

“Maybe not,” she admitted. His smirk turned to a genuine smile and his eyes were locked on hers. Okay seriously, what the hell was going on. Former mean jerks shouldn’t be allowed to make your whole body feel tingly with just a look. Even if it was Benji Wyatt. 

“I’ll see you later.”

She nodded, turning quickly and climbing the steps to her building, her pulse racing as she headed towards her apartment.

*****

“ANN! I’M HOME!” she threw her bag on the ground, running to the kitchen and grabbing a NutriYum bar from the cupboard. Suddenly she felt starved and wondered why neither of them had suggested getting food.

“Where _were_ you?” Ann came out in jeans and sheer tank top that showed her bright blue bra underneath.

“Ann! You look hot. Is that for Chris?”

“What? No, it’s a party - DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT,” she crossed the kitchen, yanking the bar out of her hand and throwing it to the side.

“Where were you?”

“Ben was helping me with business. You knew that.”

“For three hours?!” Crap, she was not-so-slyly grinning and when Ann caught her, she started grinning too.

“Leslie! You like him!”

“NO! I just don’t think he’s a jerk anymore!”

And he knew about politics and they talked about Madeline Albright, and she’d made fun of his mayoral inauguration song and he’d asked her what her paper was about and didn’t seem at all bored by it, and she’d even let him flip through one of her idea binders only to be called “thorough”. And his face wasn’t stupid and their walk had been fun.

Crap on a crayfish.

“Okay, maybe I do,” she admitted. “He's kind of a nice guy." 

“No, you _like_ like him.”

“I do not! And even if I did it wouldn’t matter because he told me on the walk that he was meeting some girl at the party tonight, so even if I did he doesn't like me back.”

Now Ann frowned, pulling her gently away from the counter and pushing her into her bedroom. She’d already laid out clothes for Leslie to wear on the bed (she was the best, most perfect starfish in the world). Leslie obediently started to change.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Ann trailed off, reaching for Leslie’s hairbrush.

“What walk?”

“We walked back from campus together. He was going the same way.”

“Uh huh,” Ann started doing something with a can of hairspray and Leslie coughed through the fumes.

“What, Ann?”

“Nooooothing.”

“Ann!”

“He _walked_ you home.”

“Noooo. He was going that way anyway and he just walked with me.”

“Uh huh. He’s roommates with Chris, you know.”

Leslie turned to face her, narrowing her eyes.

“Chris does not live anywhere near us. He lives in the other direction. Ben walked you home.”

Suddenly, all she could hear was a very loud ringing in her ears and her face must’ve shown it because Ann snickered.

“He…said my bag is way too heavy - ”

“It is - ”

“He carried it for me.”

“Oh my god,” Ann squealed. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. He carried your books home for you. And,” she took a breath. “Okay, i wasn't going to tell you this because you seemed pretty pissed when you met him, but he told Chris you were cute that first day.”

“NO!” Leslie smacked her several times and flailed. “Ann, stop! He doesn’t like me, he has a date tonight.”

“He likes you.”

“No he doesn’t!”

“He liiiiikes you, Les.”

“…Crap,whatamIgoingtowearnow?”

“This,” Ann plucked the shirt off the bed. “It looks sexy on, trust me.”

“He really said I was cute?”

Ann just grinned wider.


	3. Dancing and Waffles, Parks and Ice Towns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when you're at a really crazy party and the night seems to go on and on forever because crazy stuff just keeps happening?
> 
> That's the most accurate way I can describe this behemoth of a chapter. At least, that's what writing it felt like. The characters just kept wanting to do stuff and I just kept letting them. I have no self control. I also apologize for any typos because editing this was a nightmare. 
> 
> Also, I'm changing the rating to Mature.

Well that day had…taken a turn. 

Ben had ran in the door just after eight, calling a quick “hey” to Chris as he skidded through their apartment and directly into the shower. Chris had made dinner but it smelled like there was a lot of kale involved and Ben really just wanted a beer, a calzone and peace and quiet. 

Or Leslie Knope giggling. Both were acceptable options. 

Goddammit, she really was a pain in the ass. She couldn’t just settle for being a regular pain in the ass who bitched about her grade and whined to Anderson enough to be given a re-test or something. No no, she was a pain in the ass who refused to accept defeat and planned to torture him by completely and totally getting inside his head and refusing to leave. 

He dropped his forehead against the cool tile and groaned. How had that even happened? In the multiple hours they’d been in that room they’d spent _maybe_ 45 minutes talking about actual course work. He’d skimmed some paper she’d finished on Jeannette Rankin, talked about the history courses they’d both taken and spent at least 30 minutes on Madeline Albright alone. 

And parks. She really liked parks. 

It was her positivity that killed him, to the point where he felt like the tiniest bit of sunlight was poking through the political dark cloud that had settled over him since Ice Town. They hadn’t even talked about Ice Town, but she looked at him like he wasn’t completely insane to be considering trying to get back into politics and that was all it took. 

Fuck, she was really in his head. 

He wanted to know more. He wanted to know what made her like this. Maybe her parents were less ridiculous than his, or maybe her friends and siblings were the type of people to stand by her in the face of complete and utter decimation. He wanted to know. He had to know. 

And she was going to this party tonight that he’d been hoping to get out of, which meant if he went he could talk to her some more. That thought alone was enough to force him out of the shower. He liked the idea of talking to her again. 

“You know we can’t get involved with our students. It’s unethical. Professor Anderson takes that very seriously,” Chris’s cheery voice carried through the apartment as he entered the hallway. 

Ben felt the blood drain from his face. Had Chris picked up on something? He was always talking about fucking auras… 

“Nooo Barry, Ann Perkins is not in my class. She’s lit-rally the most wonderful nursing student who’s going to save lives one day and there’s no conflict. It’s perfect.” 

Ben skidded to his room and flopped face first on his bed, stomach grumbling and still thinking about Leslie. He’d totally forgotten about Anderson’s stupid rule. TA’s hooked up with students all the time, but Anderson was really serious about this kind of thing. 

But that was fine. He wasn’t about to go hit on Leslie at a party just because she was there and her laugh made his cock harden a little… 

Seriously, he needed to get a grip. Three months wasn’t that long of a dry spell. He needed to be able to go three months without getting turned on by the first girl who smiled at him. 

She didn’t smile at him at first though, she’d made him work for it. God, that was kind of hot. 

No. If he was sleeping with anyone tonight it would be this Cindy person Chris had in mind for him. It was safer and Leslie…any thoughts of rubbing a day’s worth of scruff all over Leslie Knope’s pale skin had to go. 

At least until next semester. 

*****

Tom’s house was gigantic as far as student housing went, especially for three people. It had a huge front yard that was littered with red party cups and people, and there were strobe lights and loud - very loud - music coming from inside. When he walked in with Chris he was met with a spacious hallway with high ceilings, and a disco ball of all things. Ben had met Tom before, who was cool enough, but always had lots to say about his fashion choices (he had a lot more than usual to say tonight when he saw Ben’s hoodie and threadbare REM t-shirt).

Mona-Lisa, one of the siblings, was dancing on a coffee table in her bra and orange hot pants and people were packed like sardines on the entire main floor, bumping and grinding to the beat of whatever song was currently on. 

Chris abandoned him for Ann Perkins fairly quickly. He said he was going off to find Cindy Miller to introduce them, but when Ben made his way over to get a beer he saw Chris and Ann going at it in a corner and vaguely wondered why you’d even bother attending a party if all you wanted to do was have sex with your girlfriend. 

Fuck, he was thinking about sex again. 

A tall guy bumped into him, spilling one of the drinks he was holding on Ben, and held up a hand. 

“Whoa, whoa, sorry man.” 

“It’s fine,” Ben yelled back, the strong sent of rum and something sugary overwhelming him. When Tall Guy disappeared he went in search of a bathroom to dry off. 

Which was when he first saw her. 

Leslie Knope. 

In the hallway, in a corner, talking to the very same tall guy who was hovering in a way Ben didn’t entirely appreciate. She didn’t see Ben, but she was smiling and giggling and he felt his chest tighten just a little when Tall Guy touched her arm. Tall Guy was too drunk to walk and carry two cups at the same time, but he still had game, apparently. 

Ben pushed inside the bathroom, acknowledging how annoyed he was Tall Guy had blocked so much of her petite frame he hadn’t even gotten a good look at what she was wearing or what she’d done with her hair. Was that the friend she was supposed to be babysitting? He looked like a hell of a lot more than a friend. 

Chris did find him again twenty minutes later, when Ben was nursing a beer awkwardly off to the side and feeling a bit like a creeper. Tall Guy had come back through the living room to refill his and (what Ben presumed was Leslie’s) cup and Ben found himself spinning whenever he caught a flash of blonde in the corner of his eye. 

“Buddy,” Chris patted his shoulder, and he jumped. 

“Oh, hey!” It was hard to hear over the music, but he took note of two brunettes beside him, one fairly short and the other almost eye level with him. 

“Ben, this” he draped an arm around the shorter one. “Is the lovely Ann Perkins, my date.” 

“Hi,” Ann held out a hand. She smiled but her grip was firm and she definitely seemed to be giving him a once over. Her lipstick was smeared (and a lot of it seemed to be on Chris’s neck. Gross). 

“And this,” Chris gestured with his other hand, the one holding his beer bottle. “Is Cindy Miller. She is completing her Masters degree in Art History and hopes to work in a gallery one day.” 

“Hi Ben,” Cindy held out a hand. She had a pretty face and long, slender fingers and her hair fell in soft waves to just above her shoulders. It was a deep, chestnut brown colour that, as far as Ben could tell in the darkness, seemed to match her eyes. 

“Hi, Cindy,” he shook back. “How uh…how are you?” 

Chris nudged him playfully. “Woo! Sparks are _flying_! Ann and I will leave you guys to it while we get ourselves some more refreshments. Have fun!” 

“So,” Ben resolved himself to stop thinking about the Blonde Pain in the Ass who was clearly enjoying herself just fine with Tall Guy, and focus his attention on Cindy. She was smiley and easy going and talked at length about her supervisor who she insisted was a hard ass. When she pulled out her sketch book (which apparently went everywhere with her) and started showing him drawing after drawing in the kitchen he yawned. At first it had been cool and impressive since he couldn't draw for shit, but after the hundredth page of flowers his eyes had started to glaze over. She didn’t notice, or if she did she didn't seem offended, but he kind of wanted to just head out. 

***** 

He excused himself to go to the bathroom when he heard his name being shouted over the commotion. 

“Ben!” He turned just in time to see Leslie come flying towards him. Her hair’s whirling around wildly and her silver shimmery tank top looking like there’s barely enough fabric to keep it on her body. He put his drink a split second before she made contact and he caught her amidst her cackles. 

“Uh, hi,” He set her down and held her gently by the shoulders. 

“You’re here! Why haven’t you been dancing? How’s your date?” 

She was definitely buzzed, he could smell rum punch on her breath, but she was lucid enough to remember he’d been meeting Cindy. He wondered where Tall Guy'd got off to. 

“It’s alright. She's nice.” 

“Is she pretty?” 

“Yeah,” he hoped he sounded casual. “Yeah, she’s pretty.” 

_Her eyes aren’t all sparkly and ridiculously blue like yours, but she’s pretty._

“Hi,” she stepped closer to him. “I’m really glad you’re here.” 

“You are?” 

“Uh huh. Dance with me!” 

“Oh…” he gazed at her apologetically. “Honestly, I’m not uh…I’m more of a wallflower than a…” 

She sighed dramatically and then slapped him - hard - on the arm. 

“Ben! Nobody will dance with me, but I want you to!” 

“Uh huh, well there’s lots of people dancing. I’m sure one of them would be happy to dance…oh boy,” he caught of glimpse of Chris grinding Ann hard in the middle of the floor and Tom’s other roommate, Jean-Ralphio, making creepy, come hither eyes in Leslie’s direction. Leslie groaned. 

“I don’t want anyone, I want you to dance with me. One song, pleasepleaseplease,” she reached for the hand still holding her shoulder. Ben exhaled. Whether it was the music or the heat of the room or the lack of food, the few beers he’d had seemed to be going to his head and he wanted to give Leslie Knope whatever she wanted. 

And he totally forgot Cindy was still in the kitchen waiting for him. 

“Beeeen,” she whined, tugging on his fingers and pulling him slightly off-centre of the middle of the room. He…bounced in time with the music. He supposed? She kept telling him he wasn’t moving his hips enough, but as she twirled and did wild things with her arms he felt himself relax and start to kind of understand what she meant. 

“Hey,” he grabbed her wrists gently when the song changed. Her brow was damp and her hair was frizzy and her cheeks were flushed. Dammit, she looked even prettier. 

“I’m really, really bad at this.” 

She threw her head back and laughed, winding her arms around his neck (he had to crouch a little bit so she could do so) and pulling him closer. 

“I’ll lead.” 

“Great,” his hands found her waist and he grinned back at her. “At least one of us knows what we’re doing.” 

Her palms found his cheeks, she yanked his face closer to hers and he just stood there, locked in her grip. She giggled and whispered something, but it was too noisy to hear. 

He was just about to ask her what she’d said when Ann Perkins appeared. 

“Lesssss,” Ann crooned, shooting him a glance. “Honey, come to the bathroom with me.” 

Leslie said something to him again, (and again, it was too loud to hear), and disappeared around the corner with Ann. He felt awkward standing in the middle of the dance floor alone, so he slid to the side. A quick glance at his watch revealed he’d left Cindy in the kitchen for over twenty minutes. Damn, apparently Leslie Knope’s company broke the space-time continuum. 

***** 

He decided to go find Cindy, not wanting to be an asshole, and slipped back towards the fluorescent lights. The kitchen was more crowded than ever, with people getting ice and Mona-Lisa passed out on top of the table, spread eagle with spilled drinks all around her. He did a quick scan of the room and found no sign of Cindy. 

When he came back out to the living room, Chris ran up to him and grabbed his arm. 

“Hey buddy! Ann and I are going back to our place tonight. Okay?” 

“Oh. Yeah, whatever.” 

“We’re leaving now.” 

“Sure.” 

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

Ben gave him a thumbs up and Chris slapped him on the back, disappearing into the main foyer and searching for Ann. It occurred to Ben that Leslie and Ann probably came together and he wondered how she was getting home. He decided to follow Chris and see if he could find her. 

Ann was there, sans Leslie, and told Chris something about leaving her with Mark. 

“Hey! Ben!” Ann exclaimed. “She’s looking for you! Mark just took her to get some more punch.” 

Mark needed to stop pouring liquor down her throat, good lord. She was tiny, she wouldn’t be able to take much more. 

“Oh…yeah, is she…okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah! You should go find her! She…” the music changed and it drowned the words out too much for him to hear what Ann was grinning about. 

“Find her!” she mouthed, as Chris wrapped an arm around her and guided her through the door. 

***** 

Ben searched for Leslie for half an hour. 

Not that it was his job to take care of her, and she was obviously an adult who could make her own decisions, but she’d seemed tipsy enough when he last saw her and despite Ann’s insistence she was fine with “Mark” he felt like he wanted to at least see for himself. 

So Ben searched; he scoured the dance floor and the kitchen, he ventured upstairs and checked the bedrooms (all of which were very occupied) on the off chance she’d ended up there alone or with someone else, (he didn’t want to admit, even on a subconscious level, how much that would’ve bothered him), and then he met Tom on the stairs wearing a fedora, who informed him that the dance floor had been extended to the basement. 

That’s where he went next and he’d just about given up on finding her anywhere in the madness when, by some stroke of luck, he walked passed a crappy, beaten up couch with two people making out on one end and Leslie Knope curled in a ball on the other. Her head was in the crook of her arm, her feet curled under her and one of her shoes had fallen to the floor. Her eyes were open, but unfocused, and a cup filled with pink liquid sat at her feet. 

“Ben!” she reached out through glassy eyes, squeezing her fingers frantically and stretching as much as she could towards him. He crouched in front of her, setting his beer on the floor next to her punch. 

“Hey,” he licked his hips. “The date thing really didn’t pan out so I went looking for a Blonde Pain in the Ass again. Where’s your friend?” 

He glanced over his shoulder just to make sure Mark/Apathetic Tall Guy wasn’t hovering around. (He totally didn’t feel bad about adding apathetic; if you leave your friend alone and drunk on a couch in the middle of a rager you earned that description.)

“You okay?” 

“I think I’m drunk,” she slurred, beaming so cheerfully at him he forgot about the obnoxious flickering for a brief instant and just focused on the glow that seemed to emanate from her very pores. 

“I think you are too.” He glanced around and asked again: “Where’s your friend?” 

“Mark?” She yawned. “That’s Ann’s ex I told you about. He’s drunk too. And sad. I think he was hitting on me. This is how he was the last time he hit on me. We had sex then.” 

“Uh huh,” Ben reached for her hand and pulled her upright, definitely unable to ignore how much that little tidbit bothered him. “That doesn’t seem like a great reason to hit on someone. Come on, let’s get you some fresh air.” 

“You’renice. You’renotevenalittlejerk. I’mnotmadanymoreaboutmygrade.” 

He laughed softly as he maneuvered them through the crowd and practically carried her up the stairs. There was still no sign of Mark as they made their way out to the back porch, which was decorated with about a thousand coloured lights and much less crowded. She stumbled over a gap in the wood planks, falling into him, chin hitting him square in the stomach.

God she was warm, even in the chilly air she was like a little ball of fire. 

He felt her laughter vibrating throughout him and shit, one part of his body was definitely reacting to that. 

“Oohhhkay,” he lifted her up quickly, pushing her hair off her face and getting her eyes. “Hi. You’re really drunk.” 

She giggled, leaning into his hand. 

“You lied to me before.” 

That took him aback. Ben furrowed his brow and stared at her.

“I did?” 

“Yes” she licked her soft pink lips. If she’d been wearing gloss it was gone now, but he kind of preferred it that way. If he kissed her it would be less sticky - 

No. He wasn’t kissing her. He couldn’t kiss her, even if he wanted to. 

Fuck, he might want to. 

“You told me you were walking the same way as me, but Ann told me your place is thaaaaat way,” she pointed at nothing in particular, but he caught her meaning. Thanks for nothing, _Ann_. 

“Why’d you do it?” she tilted her head. 

“I uh…” crap, he was stuttering. “I wanted to make sure you got home okay since it was dark and nobody was around and I didn’t think you’d let me if I said that.” 

“Dammit!” She whined, pressing her forehead to his chest. “You’renotajerkatall.” 

“Uh,” he bit his lip. “Thanks? You’re only a little bit of a pain in the ass.” 

“Hey!” 

“Well,” he grinned. “I mean, it’s a party and I’m out here in the cold because of you when I should really just go home to bed.” 

She giggled and he bit back a groan. “Are you having fun?” 

“I am now.” Shit, that was super flirty. He wasn’t supposed to be flirting. 

She giggled again, pressing closer and winding her arms around his waist. He inhaled sharply, having no idea what to do with his hands now. He should ease her away gently, but he didn’t really feel like explaining that it wasn’t her, it was the situation. 

“Are you having fun?” he countered. 

“Mark got me drunk,” she reminded him. “Do you think he was trying to hook up with me?” 

“Do you want him to want to hook up with you?” 

“I thought I did. I was maybe 60% sure I kind of still did,” she murmured. “Until like…6 hours ago.” 

“Oh yeah,” he’d settled for draping his arms down her back. “What happened six hours ago?” 

“You walked me home.” 

Her smile was a tractor beam and he found himself trailing his thumb down her spine and dropping his forehead to hers. She was still only wearing the tank top and though the rain had stopped, he wasn’t sure how her teeth weren’t chattering. 

On cue, she shivered and his fingers moved of their own volition, pulling his hoodie open and wrapping her inside of it with him. 

And that was the moment he, Ben Wyatt, became officially screwed. She turned her head, swaying softly with the breeze and he moved with her, lifting his eyes a split second before Mark found them. 

Judging by the look on Mark’s face he was not happy with the situation. 

“Uh…Leslie?” 

She looked over and smacked her lips together. Ben got a little thrill when, even after everything she told him, she didn’t try and pull away. 

“Mhmm?”  

“You wanna head out? It’s pretty late. I’ll take you home,” he lifted his eyes to stare at Ben. 

“Hey,” he stuck out his hand. “Mark.” 

“Ben,” he cleared his throat, shaking firmly while he left his other arm wrapped around Leslie. 

“Oh yeah, I’m that class you TA with Leslie and I have another one next semester with Anderson again. On small businesses.” 

“Oh,” Ben straightened a little. “Yeah, I’m TA-ing for that one too.” 

He did seem familiar. He was hard to miss given his height and he always sat at the back of lectures looking bored and muttering to the girls that seemed to flock around him. Come to think of it, where did Leslie sit? Front? She seemed like she’d sit at the front. 

Mark was sizing him up, quite literally now. Not that it mattered. Leslie was still swaying, cuddled against him and making him feel like the textbook definition of The Man. 

“How’d uh…how’s that going for you?” Because what the fuck are you supposed to say to that? How are you enjoying the class? Your semester? You sound like their great uncle at Thanksgiving. 

Mark laughed icily and shrugged. “Not too great; you guys weren’t exactly liberal with the marks last week. Leslie never gets less than an A in anything so that uh…that seems pretty bullshit.” 

_Huh. Maybe not apathetic about everything._

“Ideservedit,” Leslie murmured and they both stopped whatever pissing contest this was long enough to stare at her. 

“You did?” 

“You _deserved_ it? Since when?” Mark balked. 

“Uhhuh.I’lldobetternexttime.” 

Mark shot Ben a look that suggested he must’ve drugged her or brainwashed her and Ben fought the urge to laugh, trailing his fingers down her back. 

“Yeah, right,” Mark rubbed his cheek. “Anyway, are you ready to go, Les? I have early class in the morning I should probably try and make this week.” 

She didn’t answer, looking up at Ben with those huge eyes, until he, against his better judgement, said: 

“If you wanted to stay for a bit, I can take you home.” 

She grinned and he felt even more like The Man than he had ten seconds before. 

“Oh,” Mark rubbed his cheek. “Well, Ann left with that dude and I promised her I’d get Leslie home okay.” 

“Ann won’t mind if Ben takes me,” Leslie said simply with impressive lucidity. “He’s Chris’s roommate. He probably doesn’t want to hear them having sex anyway.” 

No, Ben definitely did not want to hear that. Hearing that from your roommate was awkward enough when your roommate wasn’t Chris who made weird noises at top volume. Mark looked torn between doing as she said and missing out on the chance to make some sort of move. 

Ben had never been so pleased to be cock blocking someone in his life. 

“Les, can I talk to you for a minute?” 

Leslie sighed dramatically, unwinding herself from Ben and stumbling over to the other side of the porch. Ben missed her warmth while she was gone, but started to snicker when he saw her flailing at Mark and stomping her feet until she gave him a light shove and stalked back to where he was standing. He really wondered what they were arguing about. 

“Everything, uh - oh,” she grabbed his hand and suddenly they were on the move. “Okay, are we, where are we going?” 

“I want waffles.” 

“Oh..kay.” 

“And you said you’d take me home.” 

“I did. I will.” 

“Mark thinks you just want to get into my pants.” 

“Huh,” he traced his thumb along the inside of her palm. “Wasn’t that what you were worried Mark was trying to do a few minutes ago?” 

She froze in the middle of the crowd of dancers, turning to stare at him and nodding quickly, as if suddenly everything just clicked into place for her. 

“You’re right. Let’s go get waffles. You like breakfast food, right? Let’s get some breakfast food.”

“I like breakfast food.” 

“Good, because it would be crazy if you didn’t.” 

“Well, I don’t want you to think I’m crazy.” _Except I’m still thinking about kissing you, which is totally crazy._

She giggled, tugging him through the crowd and to the front door. She seemed more alert now. 

“Wait wait wait,” he stopped her before they got outside again and pulled off his hoodie completely. Her brow furrowed when he dropped her hand but he saw the light go on behind her eyes when helped her put it on, zipping it up and taking her hand back. 

She beamed, tugging him out the door and cackling as they ran across the front lawn. 

***** 

He didn’t even feel cold as they sprinted down the street, apparently knowing exactly where the nearest place to get breakfast food was. He wasn’t too familiar with the neighbourhood so he wondered if she just came here a lot or if she had a built in radar for all night diners with waffles. They pushed through the doors of a tiny place with a neon sign that had a few other students scattered throughout, and one random older guy drinking what looked like coffee at the counter. She led him towards the far corner, into a vinyl booth that made noise as he slid against it. 

“I love waffles,” she declared, settling across from him. “They are without a doubt the most phenomenal food in the entire world and this place in my hometown has the best waffles in the entire world.” 

“Wow, that’s quite an endorsement.” 

“So, if you’re ever near Pawnee you should go to JJ’s and if you do you should call me and I’ll go with you.” 

“Then you better give me your number.” 

She tilted her head curiously, a smile playing on her lips. 

When the server came by she ordered waffles with whipped cream. 

“Sorry Leslie,” the woman looked apologetic. “No whipped cream tonight, hun. Fresh out and the new order didn’t come in.” 

Ben had never in his life expected someone’s eyes to turn black with rage at a lack of whipped cream, but here they were. 

“Hey, hey,” he held up his palms. “I have an idea. We’ll just get waffles to go and…I have an idea.” 

Why was he indulging this? At 2am, nonetheless? This was insane. 

But he’d seen a 24 hour mini-mart a block over and he was pretty sure they’d have whipped cream in there. 

Leslie didn’t argue or even try and guess his plan, ordering waffles for both of them to go and insisting it was her treat. At the cash she fumbled through her tiny blue purse, handing the crumpled bills for him to count out. Within fifteen minutes they were leaving the diner again, Ben now carrying two styrofoam containers in a bag that admittedly, smelled pretty good. 

He’d asked about syrup on the way to the mini mart and she’d looked at him like he had three heads. Waffles and whipped cream it was. 

Inside, however, she looked at him like she might kiss him when he pulled two canisters out of the refrigerated section at the back. He kind of wished she would so he could stop thinking about her mouth. Instead he settled for enjoying her body pressed against his arm as they paid. 

“You’re my TA,” she whispered conspiratorially as he waited for his change, adding their purchase to the bag of waffles. 

“I am.” 

“I’m not going to sleep with you for a better grade.” 

Ben stared at her in disbelief. “I don’t want you to sleep with me so you get a better grade.” 

That was probably the most suave line he’d ever come up with in his entire life. So much innuendo, he was pretty sure he’d never be able to top that. Could he Kodak this moment? Her eyes widened imperceptibly, but then realization washed over her and she nodded. 

“We started talking at the party,” he clarified. “We just ran into each other.” 

“Right.” 

“And if you happen to choke on a piece of waffle and need mouth to mouth well then, I’m just being a good fellow student.” 

She cackled delightedly, bumping her chin against his arm. 

He twirled her to face him when they left the mini mart, eyeing her seriously. 

“Alright. You’re on, Ms. Knope. Where’s the nearest park?” This was ridiculous. It was October and forty degrees and he was in a t-shirt. He should take her home immediately. 

She stalled for a second and then, with a borderline-maniacal glint in her eye, they were off, tearing down the street as fast as she could go and then around a few corners before they found the entrance of a tiny little park nestled in the middle of two streets. 

“Kay, wait,” he slowed her a little. “What’s the deal with parks?” 

She whirled to face him. “Is that a joke?” 

 “No, no, I mean,” the way she was looking at him he felt like he’d screwed up. “I just mean you really like parks - ”

“Why would anyone _not_ like parks? That’s insane Ben. That person would be insane. Only librarians don’t like parks.” 

“Okay, okay,” librarians apparently made her as angry as a whipped cream shortage, because her nostrils were flaring. 

“I mean you _really_ like parks. More than the average person would.” 

She took a breath and her face softened. “When I was little my dad took me to the park every day and we did a million different things and it was awesome. My mom would tell him it was too dark when he got home from work, but I’d meet him in the driveway and we’d go, even if it was just for a few minutes.” 

He reached out a hand, thumbing her earlobe. 

“Okay. Now that makes sense.” 

“He died when I was ten.” 

His breath caught in his throat. His own dad might be terrifying and they didn’t talk much, but he was there at least. There to call when he got a flat the first time and didn’t know how to change it; there to tell him he was proud of him for being elected mayor and then to tell him he was an idiot for blowing the budget and getting impeached; there to teach him to fish and skate and throw a spiral (which his brother was way better at); there to teach him how to throw a punch after the first time he got pounded on in the school playground (he was still pretty bad at that). 

“I’m…I’m really sorry.” 

“It was a long time ago,” she lifted her shoulders. “But thanks.” 

His fingers slid up, brushing a damp curl off her forehead. The angst splayed across her face dissipated and she took his hand back, tugging him to a bench that was damp from the rain. She made a face until he remembered the napkins he’d stuck in the bag and used those to wipe it down. She flopped, shivering and asking if he wasn’t freezing. 

“I’m from Minnesota, remember?” he replied cavalierly. He was totally freezing, but he was enjoying the quiet. 

“What made you run for mayor?” 

Well, that wasn’t the question he’d been expecting. He reached into the bag, handing her a container of waffles and the can of whipped cream before pulling out his own. She didn’t bother with utensils, spraying a massive - like, almost the entire can, massive - amount on top of her waffles before offering the rest to him. He added a little dollop, laughing when she looked totally unimpressed. 

“That’s ridiculous.” 

“You used all the whipped cream.” 

“Use the second can,” she reached into the bag and doctored up his waffles until she was satisfied. 

“You’ll thank me in a minute,” she licked the whipped cream that got on her finger and he gulped. He kind of wanted to thank her now. 

Fuck, he didn’t see this night ending without him at least trying to kiss her. She might not even let him. 

The way her eyes slanted up at him…nope, she’d definitely let him. But the last thing he needed was to kiss her only to find out Mark was telling everyone in the class he was trying to use her body in exchange for good grades or something. 

“Anyway, answer the question. Why’d you run for mayor?” 

He took a bite of his waffles, not really tasting anything. 

“Uh…well,” he glanced at her. “I guess I thought it would be cool and I thought I could do it better and I obviously, definitely did not. I tried to build a winter sports complex that bankrupted the city and they impeached me.” 

She didn’t laugh at him and she didn’t look like she was pitying him either. Leslie just studied his face, taking a bite of her food and contemplating what she wanted to say in response. 

“At least you tried something. Most people wouldn’t.” 

“No,” he admitted. “Most people wouldn’t bankrupt a city either.” 

“Most towns wouldn’t elect an eighteen year old.” 

“What’s really bad is,” he leaned back on the bench. God, why was he even talking about this? Normally he shut people down at the first mention of Ice Town but for some reason he just felt like Leslie would make him feel better about it. 

“I did it to impress a girl. She’d just turned me down for prom and I thought, hey! What’s a reasonable response to that? I’m going to run for mayor and build a winter sports complex.” 

She laughed, shifting closer to him and resting her head against his shoulder. Dammit, she was cuddly. He wanted to cuddle her back. 

“Did it work?” 

“Kind of? It worked and she was briefly into me until it was a huge failure and then she dumped me.” 

“I’m jealous again.” 

“Of being a huge failure?” 

“Of her.” 

“Don’t be,” he lifted his arm without thinking, and she wasted no time using his chest like a pillow. Shit. 

“And the other worst part was my parents grounded me.” 

He felt her smile through his t-shirt and that warmed him more than anything. 

“I would’ve voted for you. And I think it was brave to run, even if you made a mistake.” 

His heart swelled to the point of it almost being painful. He hadn’t been called brave for that before: crazy, ridiculous, ignorant, stupid, but not brave. He took another bite of his waffles and squeezed his eyes shut when she stole some of his whipped cream with her finger. 

“So, Leslie Knope, what are you gonna run for?” 

“President.” 

“Of…?”  

“The United States. Governor of Indiana first, though.” She stared at him now with such intensity he thought she was trying to read his mind. Ben felt a smile form on his lips even though his face was basically numb because it was fucking cold out and the little space heater beside him only came up to his shoulders. 

“I’d vote for you.” 

“Fuck,” she dropped her forehead to his chest and he blinked. “Beeeen.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“You didn't laugh at me.”

“Was…” he shifted a little. His ass was numb too. “Was I supposed to?” 

“You were supposed to fail the test and then I wouldn’t want to make out with you on your face.” 

Oh, god. 

“Uh…are there other places of my body other responses would make you want to make out with?” 

What the _fuck_ did that even mean? That was disgusting, that was gross and dirty and wow, where had that even…god, he was bad at this. 

But she burrowed against him, laughing so hard he could feel the vibrations in his own body. He slid his fingers through her hair and good lord, it was really soft. When she yawned against him he thumbed her earlobe. What the hell was it about him and her ears tonight?

“C’mon Madam President, I’ll take you home.” 

***** 

They fell into step beside each other and he was pretty sure this was the best night he’d had in a while. 

“So,” he grabbed her wrist after he threw away their trash and she pressed herself flush against him, sliding their hands together and tangling their fingers. She was shivering again now and it definitely felt like he was too. “Here’s uh…here’s the thing.” 

“You’re my TA.” 

Oh thank god, she was perceptive. 

“Yes.” 

“And even though it happens all over campus all the time, Anderson is really strict about not dating students in your classes. And you would hate for anyone to think I was trying to do this for a grade or you were making me do this for the promise of a grade.” 

“Right,” he swallowed hard. “Right, exactly. Not that this has, I’ve never done anything like this before - ”

“Mark said you might try and make me sleep with you for an A.” 

“Leslie,” he stopped her, turning her arms to face him. “I seriously…that never even entered my head. I had fun tonight and I offered to take you home because it seemed like you didn't want to leave with Mark and - ”

“I didn’t.” 

“Okay,” he took a breath. “Okay so we’re…on the same page.” 

“Yes. We are,” she paused a beat. 

“You can still come inside, you know,” she brushed her thumb across the back of his hand and he really wanted to do a lot more than come inside. Like press her up against a door and kiss her until she sighed into his mouth. 

He should’ve said no, but even as they walked in a comfortable silence back to her apartment he knew he wasn’t going to. He was cold and he was feeling tired now and the thought of curling up with her on a couch under a blanket - even without the prospect of sex - was too tempting to ignore. 

“Hey Ben?” she looked over her shoulder as they finally stepped inside the building and she started to unlock her door. 

“Hmm?” he was standing really close to her. Like really, unnecessarily close, like close enough his fingers were itching to reach out and rub her waist. 

“How many weeks left in the semester?” 

“Eight.” 

“How many hours is that?” 

“One thousand, three hundred and forty…” he checked his watch. “Approximately.” 

She smiled brilliantly, opening her door and tugging him through the threshold. 

“Why?” 

“I might kiss you before then; I can’t make any promises.” 

A shiver ran through his entire body, and not from the cold this time. She led him through the cozy living room and into a kitchen with big windows. There were stacks of notebooks and papers and binders everywhere, along with a few random nursing textbooks. 

“I’m gonna change…” she dropped his hand, unzipping his hoodie. He took the opportunity to study her in normal light, appreciating the way she filled out her jeans and the goosebumps all over her bare skin. She moved to hand him back the hoodie, but hesitated. 

“Why don’t I throw it in the dryer for you? It’s a little damp.” 

“Uhhh sure…that’d…if it’s not too much trouble - “

“It’s not! Have a seat, I’ll be right back.” 

She disappeared down the hall and he slumped onto the sofa, really glad he was too cold and too tired to feel very turned on. She bounded out of her room a minute later, dressed in baggy sweat pants and a t-shirt with a horse on it. He wanted to ask about it, but not right now. Right now he wanted to fall asleep on her couch. 

“Do you wanna watch something?” she picked up her remote. “We get the History Channel.” 

“Sure,” he reached for her waist reflexively and she went to him. It felt natural to hold her in his hands, even if as of that afternoon she was still calling him a jerk. The next thing he knew they were wrapped in the softest blanket he’d ever felt, someone droning about one of the Kennedys in the background as Leslie Knope dropped her head to his shoulder and fell asleep. 

***** 

“Uhh, hi?” It was morning and the voice that interrupted his dreams was definitely not Leslie’s. Ben jolted upright and Leslie squawked, clutching at his shirt to avoid tumbling to the floor. Ann lifted her eyebrows. 

“Hi Ann!” Leslie pushed her hair out of her face. Her makeup was smeared and her cheeks were flushed. “How uh..what time is it?” 

“Eight,” she looked between them, her mouth starting to curve in amusement. “How was your night?” 

“Good. Uneventful. Fine. Great. No…we didn’t do anything. Nothing at all.” 

“Right,” Ann looked between them. His face felt hot. “Okay I’m…gonna shower and then Chris is coming over and you have class, so…” 

“Yes,” Leslie rubbed her forehead. “I have…class,” she jumped up too quickly and Ben reached out to steady her by the hips. 

“Les, I thought Mark was taking you home?” Ann didn’t sound upset by the fact that he hadn’t, but there was definitely something behind her words. Leslie looked up and he felt her tense beneath his hands. 

“Right,” Ann nodded again. “Okay. I’m showering now. We’ll…you’re okay, right?” 

“I’m great, Ann,” she grabbed her friend’s arm. “I’m wonderful.” 

That made him smile widely apparently, because Ann shot him a look. 

“Okay,” Ann reached for the remote and turned off the TV. “Then…nice to see you, Ben. I’ll…I’ll talk to you - “ she pointed her finger at Leslie. “In a minute.” 

Leslie nodded eagerly and Ben realized he was still holding her. He didn’t release until Ann was gone. 

“So,” she turned around quickly, her cheeks darkening in colour. ”Do you want coffee or anything?” 

“I should…get to the office. Get a coffee on the way. I’ve got some work to do for Anderson and then a bunch of papers to mark.” 

“Of course,” she pulled away as he stood up. “I have my Women in Politics class anyway so that’s fine. We were drunk and we just - ”

“Leslie,” he tugged her close. Her eyes flitted with worry when he looked at her seriously. “I wasn’t drunk,” he brushed his thumbs over her arms. “And I’m really glad you didn’t go home with Mark.” 

“Me too,” she inhaled. “This isn’t…a problem now, right?” 

“Not to me,” he reached out to cup her cheeks. “And I’m…we’re still on for Monday?” 

“Uh huh.” 

“Kay. Cool. So, I’ll talk to you la - ”

“Wait, wait,” she ran off abruptly, returning with a blue pen and grabbing his hand. He admired her fingers as she pressed the ink into his palm. When she pulled back he smiled at the digits, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles. 

“So, I’ll call you.”

“Yes, please,” she breathed. 

“And uh…” crap, now he was blushing. “Yeah, I…had a lot of fun. Thanks for the waffles.” 

“Me too. And you’re welcome.” 

He kissed her cheek quickly and then her knuckles again before dropping her hand and walking decisively towards the door before he could talk himself out of leaving.


	4. A Free Exchange of Ideas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea how long this is going to be. The characters have taken control and I am powerless to stop them. Send help. 
> 
> Also, thank you so much for reading! I love feedback :). 
> 
> And again, sorry for typos.

“Leslie?” 

“Hmmm?” 

“Why are you lying on the floor?” 

“Because I might be in love with Ben the Jerk.” 

“Oh boy, okay,” she felt Ann kneel beside her, the scent of her shampoo lingering in the air. She patted Leslie’s leg. “How about we not sprawl out on the kitchen tiles for starters.” 

Leslie rolled up to a sitting position and let Ann, ethereal, angelic Ann, pull her into one of the chairs at the table. She was wearing a pink bathrobe, hair hanging wet around her face. 

“So, the last time I left you you were talking to Mark.” 

Leslie took a deep breath and launched into her night, detailing everything from how Mark kept getting her punch and touched her a lot more than usual (which was weird, because he’d dated her best friend, so even if he did want to have sex with someone it definitely shouldn’t have been her) to those moments on Tom’s porch with Ben, to the waffles and the park and how he practically froze to death in a t-shirt because he wouldn’t admit he was cold. 

“Wait, wait wait,” Ann grabbed her hands and stared her down. “Did he kiss you?” 

“NO!” 

“What!?” Ann blinked rapidly. “What the hell, why wouldn’t he - ”

“Because of…Because he doesn't want people thinking he forced me to sleep with him for a better or grade or something. Because that’s what Mark said. And the rule! Anderson’s rule, you told me about it!” 

“Nobody in the history of college has ever followed that rule, Leslie! Don’t be so vanilla! And also…” she crinkled her nose. “Mark’s an ass when he’s been drinking and it’s super creepy he was trying to hit on you and he was just jealous. I only asked him to make sure you got home because I thought he would do it as a favour to me.” 

“I wasn’t going to sleep with Mark,” up until last night she was 80% certain her feelings were gone completely and now, since Ben left, she would’ve been quite happy to forget Mark’s name. 

“I don’t want to get Ben in trouble!” she pouted. “I _like_ him.” 

“So, Ben spent all night with you, gave you his sweater and almost froze, went on a 2am waffle run and whipped cream trip, sat in a park talking about stuff he apparently doesn’t talk to anyone about, when he knew from the beginning there was no chance he was going to try and have sex with you.” 

“Yes…” she trailed off. “Yes, that is what happened.” 

“And he’s not gay? Like in a not really sure, confused about his feelings way?” 

“No. He’s definitely not confused because…he said…he implied he wanted to and we’d have to wait until after the semester was over. And he converted eight weeks into hours all in his head and it was really sexy and I almost jumped him.” 

“Ohhhkay,” Ann took a breath. “Well, that’s just about the most ridiculously cute thing I’ve ever heard and you definitely can’t wait eight weeks to hook up with him.” 

“Oh Ann, you brilliant, strong muskox. I was hoping you’d say that,” she whipped an idea binder open and flipped to a blank page. “So, let’s make a plan.” 

*****  
Ann didn’t let her make a plan. She said this was love and gut feelings were important and then hid her idea binder. Leslie had another one on standby (just in case the gut feeling thing didn’t work). 

The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, with Leslie alone all of Saturday night when Ann headed off to Chris’s. She twitched a little with the knowledge that Ann was going to probably see Ben and she had to stay home and think about Ben, but just as she was putting on her fleece pants and Lil’ Sebastian t-shirt and finding a documentary to watch, her phone started to ring and she just _knew_ who it was. 

They ended up turning on the same channel and watching TV together all night, the phone cradled between her ear and shoulder as she listened to his running commentary, snickered sometimes, and argued with him others. He sounded amused and she tried to picture it, his face, what he was wearing, how he was sprawled on his bed…

At one point the volume on his end got louder and he explained Ann and Chris were “at it” and did she happen to know where he might purchase a gun. 

“At least he’s enthusiastic,” she snickered. “When Mark was over you couldn’t even tell what was going on.” 

“That’s a _good_ thing, Leslie.” 

“For you, maybe, not for Ann.” 

He made a disgusted, strangled noise and randomly quoted FDR in a way that was so out of place it made her cackle, but then got them on the topic of FDR. 

She wondered (not out loud, thank god) what sex with Ben would be like. She wondered if she would get to find out. 

***** 

Monday dragged more than any Monday ever had before. Leslie liked school and she liked going to class, but she just couldn’t focus, even after three massive coffees with copious (even for her) amounts of sugar. 

At 1pm she had Business class and her stomach filled with butterflies even though she was sure Ben had only sat in on one the entire semester. She saw Mark walking in next to a pretty girl and waved. He held up his hand in greeting, motioning her over and winding an arm around her shoulders. 

“Hey Knope,” he squeezed the back of her neck. “How was the rest of your weekend?” 

“Good, relaxing. I slept six hours Friday night and filled one idea binder with paper topics for next semester. I was so tired. How was yours?” 

He gave her a funny look and then lifted his shoulders. “Can’t complain. You got home alright?” 

She nodded, smiling at him. 

“That uh…That guy wasn’t a problem?” 

She blinked. “No…of course not. He’s really sweet.” 

“Leslie just…be careful, okay? I’ve heard stuff.” 

“What stuff?” 

“Just…” she glanced at the front of the room, sliding into a seat beside him as Dr. Anderson moved to the white board. “Like, he’s not supposed to just help you in those little tutoring sessions, you know. He has to offer it to the whole class.” 

“Oh…” 

“Yeah. Didn’t mention that, did he?” 

“No.” 

Leslie’s eyes went wide when, on the white board, she saw Dr. Anderson writing Ben Wyatt would be holding a test review session at 4pm that afternoon in the same room they’d been in on Thursday. Their room. 

Leslie felt the steam building behind her eyes. She'd started to shred a piece of paper in her notebook, when she caught sight of Ben, sitting in the front row, looking stony faced while his eyes flitted through the room. 

When he finally caught sight of her halfway back his mouth softened and he looked as annoyed as she felt. She didn’t want any other people getting help. She wanted alone time with Ben in their room. 

She barely heard anything going on in class after that, seeing red whenever she caught someone writing down the time of the help session. She’d had visions all night of her arriving with a tray of coffees and Ben being happy to see her. Of him carrying her bag (which she _had_ thinned out) and her pulling out the last book she’d finished with three dozen post-its stuffed throughout it with things she wanted to discuss with him. 

Of him walking her home and trying to see if he’d hold her hand. Maybe asking him more about his family and his siblings and what he did during the holidays. 

He found her as soon as Anderson dismissed them, climbing the steps two at a time and falling in behind her as they filed out of the room. Mark didn’t notice at first and she hung back until she lost him, following Ben in the other direction. 

“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “Chris mentioned it to Anderson and he asked if I would have any objection to making it an open session and of course, I had to say no.” 

She nodded, totally understanding even if it didn’t make her any less upset. He glanced around briefly before reaching out a hand and tugging on her bag. 

“What’ve we got today, Ms. Knope?” 

“I took stuff out! I took out two political biographies - because you’re right, I don’t need a book to quote Eleanor Roosevelt - and one idea binder, but then I had to put another biography in.” 

“Uh, why?” 

“Because,” she dug through her bag, finding the book she’d brought for him. “I thought you would like this one and I made notes and they're in there." 

He ran his fingers over the spine of her latest acquisition on Woodrow Wilson. It was…well-loved. 

“What did you do to this?”  
 “I read it! Five times…” 

“Well then,” he slid it into his bag. “I will also read it multiple times and I will also have some thoughts to share with you when I am finished.” 

She giggled and he leaned in, inspecting the rest of her bag and rolling his eyes. 

“I’ll give you a ride home after.” 

“Well that would be wonderful, Mr. Wyatt. I would very much…indubitably, appreciate that.” 

“Indubitably,” he smirked. “Then I will see you in, fifty-six minutes.” 

***** 

She went straight to the room after that, not bothering to find Mark and just hoping she was the first one there. 

She wasn’t. Their private little annex was packed with students, all clutching test papers and all pacing around anxiously waiting for Ben to arrive. Leslie sat and pulled out her books, glancing around to see if she recognized anyone. She couldn’t imagine Mark would come to something like this, but who knew anything anymore… 

When Lindsay Carlisle strode in wearing a very short skirt and tight sweater Leslie started to squirm. 

“Hi Leslie,” she waved in that obnoxious way where she fluttered her fingers without moving the rest of her hand. Leslie’s jaw seemed to set of its own volition. 

“Hi Lindsay.” 

“I’m surprised at you admitting you need extra help. You’re so stubborn about that stuff! Did you learn a lot at your last session?” 

Leslie didn’t know who had told her about Thursday, but her fists were balling and she was seriously considering punching this person. Assault should be legal if a person was a jerk. 

“Is this where he’s going to sit?” Lindsay pointed to the chair at the head of the table and sat directly across from Leslie on the other side of it. 

“I wouldn’t know.” 

“Oh,” Lindsay pouted her lips. “Weird. I heard you had the inside scoop.” 

Assault. Legal. Person. Jerk. 

She’d call it The Jerk Bill. 

There would be an amendment to The Constitution. 

Her first act as President. 

_Governor Knope, what will your first act as President be if elected?_

_To institute The Jerk Bill because Lindsay Carlisle is a stupid jerk faced jerk._

“Uh, hey,” Ben looked green when he walked through the door and saw the crowd that had assembled, so green he matched the little plaid checks on his shirt. Leslie smoothed out the smile that threatened to form on her lips. He seemed to be avoiding looking at her, but he did take the seat between her and Lindsay. 

Mark didn’t show, which was a bit of a relief. 

*****

Ben actually was a good teacher, even if he didn’t seem to be enjoying a minute of it. He explained things clearly and concisely which Leslie appreciated, but retained nothing of, because he’d decided to play footsies with her under the table and every time he leaned over her shoulder to see how she was doing her whole body seized up. 

When he went over to check on Lindsay and she pushed her boobs together with a knowing smirk, Leslie’s blood started to boil. She suddenly felt self conscious in her jeans and t-shirt. 

At exactly 5pm Ben shut it down and said he had to leave. One guy asked if he could stay and answer some questions and Ben lifted an eyebrow as if to say “what the hell have we just been doing for the last hour”. 

Lindsay laughed way too loudly and appreciatively and mistook his name for Dan and Leslie wanted to jump across the table and strangle her. 

Everyone grumbled as the filed out and Ben’s eyes shifted towards Leslie’s purple notebook. Confused, she flipped through it casually and saw his angled, sharp letters scribbled upside down in the corner. When had he even done that? 

It was a room number. For the same building and one floor down. Her pulse quickened and she chanced a glance at him again, biting her lip and packing up her belongings. She was one of the first to leave and headed directly for the room, grinning outwardly as she stepped inside. 

***** 

He finally stumbled in fifteen minutes later, looking as annoyed as she’d felt through that whole hour. 

“Hey,” she leaned back against the desk. He groaned and slumped into a chair beside her. After a few seconds in spun, snaking out a hand and tugging her closer. 

“Your friend grabbed my ass on her way out the door. That was fun.” 

“Who!? Lindsay! She’s not my friend. I’ll punch her, do you want me to punch her? Let’s go punch her - ” 

He chuckled in that cute, self-deprecating way and yanked her back when she started to move. 

“Okay, so,” he pulled her down into the chair beside him and slid over. “There’s a lot of purple post-its in that book.” 

She grinned. “I’m very thorough and I budget a lot for post-its.” 

“I noticed,” his lips twitched. His fingers were still wrapped around her wrist. 

“Two questions: First of all, do you have any stuff…” he gestured at the table. “Course stuff you wanted to talk about?” 

She smiled and shook her head. 

“Okay, great, second question: do you want to go get hot chocolate somewhere downtown with me so you can walk me through the four thousand post-its in this book.” 

“Yes,” she breathed. 

“Great,” he stood abruptly and reached for her bag. “So I’ll take this ridiculous, impossible, oversized brick.”    
She stood too. 

“And I will take this,” he plucked her hand off the desk and slid their fingers together. “Good?” 

She nodded, relishing in the weight of his hand in hers. 

***** 

His dark blue Saturn was pretty neat and tidy, which was about what she expected from him. She made note of his parking spot while he threw her bag in the backseat and she climbed in beside him. It was just as chilly as it had been Thursday night, but the sun was out so her jacket was hanging open. He murmured for her to get in, which she did, fidgeting nervously in her seat as she watched his hands slide over the gear and shift into drive. He had nice hands. 

They didn’t speak much on the drive, choosing instead to listen to the radio as they headed through the city. The further they got from campus the less students crowded the sidewalks. She felt like there was distance between them and everything else now, like she could breathe again and act as she wanted without having to worry if it was crossing some boundary. 

His fingers flexed and curled around the steering wheel and she wanted to take his hand back and ask if he was worried about something… until he smiled at her behind his Ray Bans and she grinned back and told herself to relax.

***** 

The coffee shop they went to was quiet and off a side street she’d never been down before. She imagined it would be a little creepy when it got dark, but when Ben draped an arm around her neck casually she saw the appeal. 

But seriously, hand holding, arm around her neck, this wasn’t exactly not-dating, was it? It was too confusing. Maybe Leslie should conference in Ann. 

Except Ann was in her anatomy class and unavailable for conferencing. Instead, she settled for straight up asking Ben. 

“What? This?” he rapped his fingers against her shoulder. “This is nothing. Friends do this. Mark did this to you in class today.” 

She swore she wasn’t imaging the little inflection of annoyance she heard when he said _Mark_. 

“Oh, so if I make out with Mark tomorrow that means it’s okay for us to do it?” 

She squealed when he tickled her neck, pulling her against his chest and murmuring into her hair. “Don’t do that.” 

Well, dammit, now she just wanted to do it more. Screw Ben and his awful nice smelling soap. 

They found a cushy sofa by a window and Leslie took up residence there while Ben bought the hot chocolates (hers with extra whipped cream. He was a fast learner). She texted Ann quickly to say she would be home later. 

Ann just sent back a happy face. 

***** 

Four hours. 

They were there for _four hours_. 

They poured through her book and Ben wanted to know everything; everything she’d been thinking when she read a certain line and everything she ran out of room to say when she made a post-it note for him. It took forever, even though it didn’t feel like it did, and soon the sky darkened and the tiny little coffee shop in the creepy side street in Bloomington was ready to close with them still in it. 

“Are you sick of me yet?” He murmured as they collected their empty cups and a wrapper for a chocolate brownie they’d shared. She grinned and shook her head. 

“Good,” he nudged her temple with his chin. “Because we’re only like…a third of the way through this thing.” 

“I’m also very detail oriented.” 

She felt him grin into her hair. 

“Alright, we better go. Before we get shooed out with a broom.” 

The way he held her on the walk back was a lot less casual than the walk from the car had been. He kept her pulled tightly against his chest, the full weight of her body leaning into his until they had to split up to go to their respective doors. This time, he played with her fingers while they drove. 

She got a text from Ann five minutes from her building saying _Chris isn’t here_. When Leslie told Ben this he smiled softly and thumbed her wrist. 

They walked up to her apartment together, him carrying her bag while she unlocked the door. He wasn’t touching her anymore, but she could feel his breath on her neck and it made her shiver.  
 “Hey!” Ann called, poking her head around the door. “Did you eat? You must be starving.” 

“We had a brownie!” Leslie called back. “And multiple hot chocolates!” 

“That’s not dinner, Les.” 

“It’s just as adequate of a dinner as whatever you’re doing with gross broccoli in there.” 

“Brownies are not dinner,” Ben’s low voice reverberated against the back of her neck. She shuddered and Ann rolled her eyes. 

“Hiiii Ben.” 

“Oh hey, hey Ann,” he straightened quickly, rubbing his neck and blushing. Leslie spun around and he took her hands between his. 

“Brownies are totally dinner.” 

He laughed, resting his head against hers. 

“I better go. I’ll see you…” 

“Thursday. For your tutorial.” 

He groaned and she giggled. “Don’t remind me.” 

“What are you doing Friday?” Ann called out again. They turned to look at her. 

“I told Chris to come over and watch movies. You should come too.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Ben shifted nervously. “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see if…yeah, that’d be fun. I’ll try and work that out.” 

Leslie tilted her head and swung their joined hands. “So I’ll see you later, Benjamin, Ben.” 

“I’ll see you later, Lesliemin. Leslie.” 

Ann muttered something, but Leslie didn’t hear it. Ben tugged her in, kissing her brow and releasing her hands as he slowly pulled away. 

When the door closed Ann called out they definitely needed to get a room. 

Leslie definitely agreed. 

***** 

Apparently Chris loved the idea of inviting Ben over for movie night on Friday, because he’d been really lonely lately and could use the company. Leslie didn’t point out that Chris and Ann weren’t exactly great company when they were around each other, because she didn’t really care. In fact, the more distracted Chris was, the better. They talked about it on Tuesday when Chris was over to take Ann out. They talked about it again Wednesday morning when Chris was still over and doing jumping jacks in the kitchen at 6am. 

On Wednesday Ben called her and said he was very lonely and his week was crazy busy and he really wanted to see her. They also went through several more chapters of the book and every time one of her notes made him chuckle she relished the sound. 

On Thursday he was in class again and Anderson announced Chris would be leading the tutorial session that afternoon. Lindsay (who was sitting behind her) pouted audibly and Leslie saw red. But then Ben gave her a little smile from a distance and the rage deflated. After class he grabbed her hand and led her into an empty room where he held her face in his hands and she thought he might just say screw it and kiss her. 

He didn’t, but he did slide his thumbs over the planes of her face and smile at her in a way that made her feel warm all over. He also returned her book and provided her with a book of his own he thought she might like to read. Leslie felt dizzy with happiness when she flipped through it and saw page after page with blue post-its added to them in his sharp but neat writing. Instead of reading ahead for class that night she curled up on her bed, tracing his words with her fingertips and wondering if this was what it was like to physically ache to be with somebody. 

***** 

When Leslie got home on Friday Ann was sprawled across her bed, reading a magazine. Leslie climbed in beside her and flopped, the lack of sleep from the night before catching up with her. She’d finished Ben’s book just as the sun had risen and hadn’t shut her eyes for more than twenty minutes before heading off to class. 

“We’re just gonna order takeout tonight.” 

“Okay,” she yawned, curling her face into Ann’s soft sweater. 

“Nah uh,” Ann shoved her. “They’ll be here soon, go get dressed.” 

“Is this a date? Should I wear cargo pants?” 

“Whether it’s a date or not you should not be wearing cargo pants. Just wear something like this,” she tugged at the mint green sweater. “Be comfy.” 

“Should I be comfy and sexy? Can I borrow your fingerless gloves? Those are always sexy - ”

“No.” Ann shook her head firmly. “Those are for my Halloween costume.” 

“Ann,” she groaned. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” 

“It’s not a date. Remember? He’s coming over here because he’s bored and lonely and you guys can’t date because apparently you found the only male in the universe who won’t break a few silly rules for sex.”

“Cool people make the rules, they don’t break the rules.” 

“No…” Ann shook her head. “No, Leslie. No. Just no. Go get dressed,” she smacked her leg. “Why were you at school so late?” 

“I was looking at stuff on the projector in the history building and I lost track of time. Ben told me I’d like these old newspaper articles when I finished this book he gave me.” 

Ann rolled her eyes. “You both need to get laid. Go get dressed.”

“Ann,” she groaned. “We can’t get laid. I told you - ”

“March yourself into that bedroom right now and don’t come out until you look irresistible.” 

“Fiiiiiine.” 

*****  
The buzzer went an hour later and Leslie jumped about a mile. Ann had talked her into a bright blue, oversized knit that she insisted was “casual chic” and was also “her colour” and paired it with some soft leggings instead of Leslie’s typical sweatpants. Her hair she washed and just let it do whatever because Ann convinced her guys liked that. She really didn't know what she would do without her perfect unicorn best friend/roommate. 

Ann took control, letting the boys up and heading to open the door for them. Chris walked in holding a bag of takeout food and a six pack. Ben shuffled in behind him, looking tired and scruffier than usual. His eyes were dark - with what, she couldn’t quite place - but it gave her goosebumps. 

“Ann Perkins!” Chris exclaimed, crossing the distance and pecking Ann on the cheek. She beamed, and for the first time Leslie truly realized how happy she looked in that moment. She’d been too caught up in her own soap opera to see how good for her Chris seemed to be. 

She’d have to schedule some Ann Time soon to get all the details. 

“And Leslie Knope!” He turned and lifted Leslie into a tight - almost too tight - hug. “It is literally, wonderful to see you again so soon. You remember Ben Wyatt.” 

“Yes,” Ann stepped forward. “Hello, _Ben_. Welcome to our apartment for the very first time.” 

She was mocking them lightly and Ben shot her a funny look. 

“Uh, thank you, Ann. Hey Leslie.” 

His sexy little sideways glance made her want to jump his bones. Ugh, he knew exactly what he was doing too. 

“Let’s eat!” Chris exclaimed. “Tom’s party was truly excellent last week; it was literally the most amazing party I have ever been to. Ben and I were just talking about it.” 

Now she looked at Ben fully and his face was contorting weirdly. 

“We brought…I don’t even know what we brought.” 

“It’s Thai food, Ben. You were there!” 

Chris practically bounced into the kitchen. 

“Cindy Miller was lovely, wasn’t she Ben? I think she really liked you. I saw her at spin class the other day and she was asking about you. Why haven’t you called her? Will you go to the Halloween party together?” 

Ann arched one of her perfect eyebrows as she pulled some food containers out of the bag. “Yes Ben, why haven’t you called her? It’s been over a week. Girls don’t like being strung along.” 

Ben’s eyes flitted in Leslie’s direction, making her bite her lip to keep from grinning. 

“I uh…I dunno. I’m not…sure I’m feeling it.” 

Chris stopped pulling out cutlery, turning to Ben and staring like it was the most ludicrous thing he’d ever heard. 

“But she’s a tall brunette; you always like tall brunettes.” 

“Well, he said he didn’t like her so…” Leslie mumbled under her breath. Now Ann stared between them in a way that suggested they were being anything but subtle. Ben bumped her and Leslie balled her fists to keep from doing something like grabbing his face and kissing it. 

When they settled in the living room Leslie took the floor, setting her plate on the coffee table and folding her legs like a pretzel. Ben sat in the chair and Ann and Chris took the couch while Chris chatted about how they should go camping before the weather got too cold. 

“Trail running in the fall is literally one of my most favourite things in the entire world. And I have plenty of equipment.” 

“So does Leslie, she loves camping,” Ann twirled some noodles around her fork. “We should get a bunch of people and go. It’d be fun.” 

“Ben doesn’t even own a tent!” Chris exclaimed. Leslie ignored the look Ann was shooting her, her cheeks feeling warm. She took a sip of her white wine. 

“I’m sure someone would share with hi -”

“What movie do you guys want to watch?” Leslie sat up quickly. 

“I brought Alien…and Aliens…and…” Ben began, just as Ann muttered “something we’ve seen before”. 

“Ewwww, Ann,” Leslie threw a pillow at her. “Don’t be gross. It’s movie night, not make out on the couch with other people in the room night.” 

“Fiiiiine, fine, I was only kidding,” she rolled her head to Chris’s shoulder. “We can watch Alien…I don’t really care. That’s scary, right? Get us in the mood for Halloween?” 

“Sure…” Ben began, standing up to put it on. Leslie took a bite of her food, not really tasting anything. Ben nudged her with his foot when he came back to sit down, offering her a little smile and asking if she wanted to take the chair. 

“I’m okay,” she managed a smile back, feeling sad all of a sudden. Chris and Ann were being flirty and started snuggling as soon as their plates were empty and they turned off the lights. Leslie wanted to snuggle. Maybe cool people did break the rules. 

Chris did move his legs enough for her to perch on the end of the couch, but she just felt out of place. After they put on the second movie the happy couple forgot their promise and started making out, which made Leslie grumpy again. Ben looked irritated too, and kept staring at the screen with laser focus and his jaw tight, only to glance apologetically at her every so often. 

They both exhaled when Ann declared in a strangled whisper that they were going to go check on something in her bedroom, but not to bother pausing it. Leslie reached for her wine as soon as she heard the door slam and took a gulp. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ben glance back at her three times before he got up from the chair and moved their plates back to the kitchen. When he returned it was with a fresh beer in hand and he settled beside her on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table and nudging her shoulder with his. 

“Hey.” 

“Hey.” 

“This is a good part,” he took a sip of his beer and she looked up at him. He lifted an arm and she wasted no time sliding under it. 

“Friends cuddle, right?” 

“I cuddle Ann all the time.” 

“Perfect,” he kissed her forehead, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. She didn’t bother to tell him Ann didn’t do that.

“Did you finish marking your papers?” She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at him. It was dark and she knew his face was close to hers and if she looked at him she would kiss him and whether the rule was stupid or not, Ben really didn’t seem keen to go against it. 

“Almost. What are you wearing to Tom’s party?” 

“I don't know. Last year I went as Batman.” 

He tugged on her hair lightly, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. 

“Tom kept grabbing me and asking me why I didn’t come as Batgirl.” 

“I’ll probably go as Batman this year. I have a costume.” 

She watched with fascination as he reached out and paused the movie. He didn’t bother turning on the lights. 

“Mark came by my office.” 

Her eyes bulged in horror and she turned to stare. “What? What for?!”  

“To yell at me apparently. On your behalf. Tell me I can’t just screw with you like this because you’re a good person and you don’t deserve it. And he told me there’s another guy in Pawnee that would definitely end me if I hurt you and owns a lot of guns.” 

The mention of Ron made her smile slightly, but she still couldn’t believe Mark would do something like that. It was sweet, even if she totally didn’t need him to do that for her. It was sweet he cared. 

Ben’s thumb slid against her throat. 

“So, the conclusion I drew from that was I better not screw with you.” 

And then he pressed his mouth to the juncture between her neck and shoulder and the world stopped spinning. It was the lightest kiss possible, a soft brushing of lips against skin that was gone as quickly as it appeared. The resulting butterflies in her stomach were so violent she thought she might take flight. 

“I read your book.” 

He laughed. “All of it?” 

“I stayed up all night and I made notes. I loved it.” 

“Good,” he inhaled sharply. “I thought you would. And believe me when I tell you I really, really want to… I really like you. A lot.” 

“But we have to wait,” she exhaled. “I mean this is…we have to wait to really start something. If we…if we wanted to.” 

“The second I finish grading your final I’m not waiting anymore.” 

She smiled, eyes stinging a little and wondering why the thought was making her so emotional. She just didn’t like the idea of everyone continuing to make snide remarks when all she really wanted was to stay like this all night and not have to worry if Chris saw them. 

After a few minutes, she tried to pull away, but Ben held her against him. 

“They’ll be a while,” he insisted, stretching out a bit on the couch and curling around her more fully. 

“Hey, Ben?” he titled his head down. “Who would Batman most like to make out with?” 

“Uh, why?” 

“Maybe I’ll go as that.” 

He groaned and kissed her shoulder again, leaving Leslie annoyed he didn’t answer her before he restarted the movie.


	5. Batman vs. Rosie the Riveter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still writing, as per the characters' demands. Reviews/Kudos make me happy. Thanks for reading!

“Ben, you look fantastic. That is literally the best Batman costume I have ever seen.” 

“Thanks…Sherlock Chris,” Ben reached for his mask, squirming a little at how heavy and uncomfortable the fabric was. It was a pretty cool costume, even if it had cost way, way, way too much.

 Chris chuckled appreciatively. “Oh Ben, you’re hilarious. Are you almost ready? I told Ann we’d pick them up.”

 “Yeah, hey, Chris,” Ben pocketed his keys. He’d been wanting to broach the subject of Leslie with Chris for days now, just to feel him out.

“You know how Leslie - ”

“Leslie Knope!” 

“Uh yeah, you know how she’s in that class and you’re kinda…hanging around with her and Ann a lot now. Do you not think Anderson would care about that as much as he would if you were to say, date her?” 

“Are you asking if I’m interested in Leslie - ”

“No no,” Ben cringed. “God, no. I’m just asking because you know Anderson better than me and I’m just trying to understand the distinction between friends and dating…” 

“Well Ben, friends don’t get intimate with one another and if there was ever a discrepancy in a mark being given that could be seen as due to a sexual favour.” 

“Right,” he pinched his brow. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” 

And it did. Unfortunately. He could be friends with Leslie, but if it looked like there was any exchange of…whatever for grades they’d both get in trouble. 

Except waiting until the end of the semester was lit-e-rally killing him. 

“Why do you ask?”  

“No reason, hey, we should go,” he pointed to the clock abruptly. “Tom said to get there early, right?” 

“He did, indeed. Great memory. Okay, let’s go.” Chris grabbed his pipe, spinning with a flourish of his cape and striding out the door. 

****  

Batman would totally make out with Rosie the Riveter. 

He was just saying. That jumpsuit was enough to send all the blood flowing from Batman’s (his) brain to Batman’s (his) dick. Especially when he was fairly certain Ann/Biker Chick had talked her into leaving one more button than was necessary undone given the sly look Leslie/Rosie gave him as they climbed into the backseat. 

“Hey, honey,” Ann stretched forward and kissed Chris lightly. Ben twisted uncomfortably, fingering his mask in his lap. 

“Hey, you guys look great.” 

“Tom’s making us play beer pong with margaritas. That’s why we’re going early,” Ann settled back in her seat. “So I hope you brought your A game.” 

“That sounds _amazing_!” Chris beamed. 

“Aww, Ben, you look great as Batman,” Ann grinned. “Doesn’t he look great, Leslie?” 

Leslie agreed, though her voice sounded a little strained when she did. 

Fuck, could Batman have sex with Rosie the Riveter? She could leave on the head scarf and he could keep on his cape. That counted, right? They’d still be in costume. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he checked it while Chris pulled back onto the main street. He didn’t imagine they’d be able to drive back after the party, but it was a long walk to Tom’s and any day now Indiana was going to see their first snow of the season, so it was cold enough to merit at least a one-way trip via car. 

_I want to kiss your face hard, Batman._

He bit his cheek to tamp down on a grin, chancing a glance back at her and catching her eye. For the last week they’d been trading books back and forth, stealing hours here and there to either talk on the phone or go to some quiet area on campus where they could basically sit and, occasionally, hold hands. 

The last post-it she’d left for him had a strange cartoon on it and when he’d asked her about it on the phone that night she’d informed him it was a Kiss Monster and he should brace himself come five weeks from now. And that led to more thoughts about Kiss Monsters and kissing Leslie and touching Leslie and pretty soon he was hanging up on her abruptly so he could jerk off. 

Good lord, he was horny. 

Now, four and a half weeks to go, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to make it. Making it through the night would be enough of a challenge. 

Though Chris and Ann continued to go at it like rabbits most of the time, the new and shiny haze had faded and Chris was back to being his observant self, which didn’t bode well for Ben. While he appreciated that they didn’t start rubbing up against each other in the kitchen while he was reading the paper, it meant Chris was paying attention to him again and any flirtation between himself and Leslie wouldn’t go ignored for much longer. 

When they pulled up to Tom’s, Chris parked a little further down the street, kissing Ann fully when they got out and swinging her hand as they walked. Leslie hung back a little, falling in step beside him and biting her lip (she really needed to stop doing that, it just made him want to bite it for her). 

“You look great,” he murmured as he fitted his mask to his face. 

“So do you,” she whispered, sliding a touch closer to him, hand by her side. He glanced ahead at Chris and Ann before catching her pinky with his and linking them. She smiled at her feet, hopping up onto the curb and tugging him gently to join her. 

“The Dark Knight wondered - ”

“Don’t do the voice.” 

“Sorry.” He laughed, brushing their arms together and studying the little grin playing across her bright red lips. Her pinky tightened around his and he squeezed his eyes shut for an instant, reminding himself that it wasn’t worth it if it came out and people started to question why she ended up with a good mark. She worked hard - too hard - to have him marginalize that. 

“How many - ”

“Seven hundred and fifty four. Approximately.”

“Dammit.” 

“Tell me about it.” 

“I liked that Teddy Roosevelt book, by the way. I thought I’d read them all.” 

He slowed to a halt, shooting a glance at Chris before winding his arms around her and hugging tightly. Leslie sighed and hugged back with equal force, breaking apart only when he did. What he hoped it would achieve, he didn’t know, but it seemed like they were both reassuring each other about something. Maybe that toughing this out for a little over one more month would be worth it. Realistically, they should’ve just avoided each other, but he didn’t want to. He’d rather be around her and not kissing her than alone and thinking about it. 

“When the party gets crazy do you…maybe wanna go somewhere quiet?” 

“Yes,” she squeaked with eagerness. “Yes, please.” 

That was the sum of their relationship thus far. Hand holding, pinky squeezes, a few hugs and stolen moments of just them. He’d take it for now if it meant he’d draw a few smiles and giggles and cheek kisses out of her. 

And then when eight weeks were up he’d take her away to a hotel room somewhere and they'd spend several days apologizing to his penis for what they'd put it through. 

By the time they got there the party was already crazy. Jean-Ralphio was writing raps about everyone’s names, Mona-Lisa was singing an accompaniment and Tom had three blenders of margaritas going. Tom’s friend Donna was also there, and he had no idea what she was supposed to be dressed as but he had enough common sense not to ask. (Unlike Chris, who got an earful. She was a character from a horror movie nobody had ever seen.) 

And Mark was there, not actually in costume but claiming he had a cowboy hat somewhere, which only served to make Ben feel super nerdy when he could’ve just done the same and actually looked cool. 

But Tom and Donna actually seemed to love his costume and kept calling him Batman and high-fiving him so that boosted his ego a little bit (as did Leslie calling him Batman every chance she got). 

It wasn’t that he was jealous of Mark. He was jealous that Mark got to do things like hug and kiss Leslie hello and not think about it or worry about who saw what. Ben wanted that, he wanted to kiss her and hold her hand and leave together without it being scandalous. 

But he couldn’t, so he might as well have a good time. 

***** 

Margarita-pong was surprisingly fun. He got teamed up with Tom, who sucked royally, but years of baseball had apparently made Ben apt at shooting a ping pong ball into a cup across a table. Leslie was paired up with Mark (they’d drawn names, he didn’t ask), Chris was with Jean-Ralphio and Donna was with Ann. Mona-Lisa didn’t play “sports”, so she sat on the couch, filing her nails and drinking from a margarita pitcher with a straw. 

Donna was good, like crazy, unexpectedly good, but Ann was not and Tom and Ben squeaked a win by on them. Tom whined he wasn’t getting drunk enough, to which Ben rolled his eyes and pointed out they were winning. 

“Winning isn’t everything, nerd. God, don’t you want sports movies?” 

Leslie was also pretty good and her mouth contorted with determination every time it was her turn. Ben almost lost that game because she was distracting him and Mark was definitely trying to take advantage of that, but Ben took great pride in sailing his final ping pong ball directly into Mark’s last cup and chanting with everyone as he chugged it. 

They killed Chris and Jean-Ralphio and Chris, surprisingly, didn’t complain with how much sugar he was consuming. 

By the time he and Tom were declared the tournament winner with a round of celebratory margaritas he was feeling pretty good. They sat around the living room chatting about other Halloween costumes they’d used and debating if they had time to play charades before the rest of the guests arrived. 

They spent so much time talking about it they didn’t actually play anything and soon, the music was cranked up and the living room got really crowded, really fast. 

He found Leslie in the kitchen eating a Kit Kat and drew her close in a way that was entirely too intimate for how discrete they should be trying to be. But there was a lot of tequila in those margaritas (he suspected Tom had made their batch extra strong since they weren’t drinking that many) and he couldn't will himself to care. Leslie didn’t seem to mind, giggling and leaning into him as she broke off a piece of her chocolate and pushed it passed his lips.

He kissed her fingers and chewed thoughtfully. 

“What do you wanna do?” 

“Dance.” 

“Of course." 

“Wait, wait, there’s about five Batmans here. Are you sure you’re Ben?” 

He grinned and wound his arms around her waist. “I’m Batman.” 

“But are you the _right_ Batman? Because I only want to dance with the right Batman.” 

“Quiz me,” he plucked a Butterfinger from the candy bowl. “I know everything Batman should know.” 

“Okay,” she took a bite of the chocolate when he pushed it to her mouth. He swallowed a groan as he watched her. “In what…issue does Batman meet The Joker?” 

Ben blinked. “If anyone doesn’t know that they shouldn’t be dressed as Batman.” 

“Well, I don’t know!” she giggled, bumping her chin against him playfully.

“Okay, how about this, you’ll know for sure when you see my dance moves.” 

She paused. “Actually yeah, that’ll probably work.” 

She cackled when he pinched her hip and tickled her sides until she slapped him away long enough to pull him towards the music. 

Ben forgot about everything in the eerie blue-green lighting. He forgot about the existence of rules or how jealous he was of people that could show her their affection without any consequences. He forgot that she wasn’t his to hold as much as he wanted (or as much as she wanted him to) and take home at the end of the night. He forgot there existed a world where she couldn’t just stay in his bed all day Saturday, reading newspaper clippings from his time as mayor that everyone else in the world thought he had burned in effigy, or watching Star Wars and talking about her idea binders. He just followed her lead, bouncing and swaying and being generally terrible but happy to keep doing it if it made her happy. 

When the song changed to something slower half the people groaned, but he just pulled her in, hating his stupid mask because it created space between them he didn’t want to be there. Her arms linked around his neck and she was beaming at him. 

“Having fun?” 

“I am, actually,” he rubbed the small of her back. “Are you?” 

“Yes, you’re really good at beer pong.”

 “I played shortstop on my JV baseball team.” 

“Clearly you’ve retained those skills. You got me drunk very quickly.” 

“Sorry,” he glanced around before dropping his head and kissing the tip of her nose. His mask bumped against her forehead and she rubbed it cutely. 

After a few turns around the dance floor her palm cupped his cheek, offering him one of her dazzling smiles. “Come with me a minute?”    
Ben blinked, but obliged, allowing her to pull him out of the living room and towards the staircase. His stomach lurched when they started to climb it. The hallways were pretty dead still as the party hadn’t been going on for that long and the second floor of the house was completely empty. Leslie had little beads of sweat on the back of her neck and her hair was falling out of its ponytail. She reached for his fingers, leading him away from the music and into a small alcove on the second floor with a couch and a TV. 

“Sit,” she pointed to the couch. His pulse was racing, but he obliged, watching intently as she fixed her ponytail and dabbed her brow. When she came to stand between his legs she removed his mask carefully, setting it on the couch beside him and sliding into his lap. 

“Leslie,” it came out choked as his fingers slid up the tops of her thighs without his brain’s permission. “This maybe isn’t such a good…” 

“Shh,” she pressed a finger to his lips, while her other hand ruffled his hair. Her nimble fingers on his scalp felt amazing. He forced away thoughts of how they might feel elsewhere. 

“It’s Rosie. And you’re Batman.” 

“Oh-okay,” he shut his eyes when she started to circle her thumbs over his temples. “Fuck.” 

He yanked her then, pulling her forehead to his. 

“You looked really sexy playing that game.” 

“Everyone talks about Ice Town, nobody brings up my baseball skills. I’m basically a ringer.” 

He expected her to laugh, but he could tell she was thinking too hard in the way her lips curled and her brow furrowed. 

“If you,” she pulled back a little, eyes warm and glassy. “If you could have one thing in the whole world for the rest of your life what would it be?” 

“You.” 

“Beeenn,” she shot him a look. “I’m being serious. For the rest of your life, what’s the one thing you'd want?”  
 “Do you actually think I could run for office again some day?” 

Because he wanted to, god, being around her made him realize how much he still wanted to. Reading biographies, going through her notes and seeing how much passion she brought to everything only made him want it again. It made him wish he was like her; without any limitations, only possibilities. 

“Yes,” she nodded resolutely. He blinked. 

“Actually? After Ice Town? Because honestly, even I know that doing this accounting thing, trying to get a responsible job, building up years of good reputation, even _I_ know that might not be enough to make that happen for me. It’s legitimately possible I blew my chance to ever hold elected office at eighteen - ”

“You’ll run again. And you’ll win and you’ll be great and Ice Town will be a blip on your radar, and I genuinely believe that and I’m always right about these things, so you should listen to me.” 

And she was so certain, so convinced it was possible that it broke him a bit. It dislodged whatever had been building up in his chest over the past five years and he felt like he could take a deep breath for the first time in ages.

“So, back to my question,” she tilted her head and settled more fully on his lap, fingers tangled in his hair again and a smile playing on her bright red lips. “What’s the dream, Mr. Wyatt? What’s the one thing you want more than anything for the rest of your life - ”

He’d been right, she did sigh when he kissed her. A little squeak at first and then a contented sigh that gave him goosebumps and urged his hands to pull her closer. They slid into her hair, tilting her head and angling her mouth so he could slide his tongue passed her lips and draw a soft moan from her. 

“Still you.” 

It seemed like too much to tell her he didn’t think the rest of it, any of it, would happen without her, but that’s exactly what he was thinking. He could dream as big as he wanted - as big as she did - but without her it would mean nothing. Without her he would just be Ice Clown with an anxiety knot in his chest for the rest of his life. Without her, nothing would ebb away until he felt like he could be something again. After one month of knowing her he felt like she was tied to everything about him that mattered. 

And then his mouth was on hers again, and he tried earnestly to kiss her slower and deeper every time he touched her. Her tongue tasted like tequila, sugar and chocolate and for a while he just savoured the taste of her kiss and the feel of her in his lap. His slid his hands up her torso, cupping her breast and shifting his mouth to her neck. Her lipstick was smeared and her eyes were almost black with arousal. Ben could only imagine what he looked like. 

She whimpered when he nipped softly and he flipped them, attempting to lay her out on the couch under him until his cape got caught around and then he stepped on it when he tried to readjust and she moved to help and they went tumbling to the floor in a mess of black polyurethane with a loud crack. His shoulder started throbbing instantly from hitting the side of the very hard, very pointy table next to them. 

“Shit, shit,” he cupped the back of her head, untwisting his cape and wiping her lipstick until she gave him her eyes. He’d landed on her awkwardly between the table and the bottom of the couch and he hoped his knee wasn’t digging into anything. 

“Are you okay?” 

She laughed quietly, exhaling when he pecked her lips, eyes a little unfocused. 

“Do you maybe want to go back to my place…?” she began, but he stopped listening. 

His fingers felt wet. 

“Are you sure you didn’t…” he cradled her with his left arm, moving the hand holding her head and eyes bulging at the sight of something dark and wet on his fingertips. 

“Holy shit, Leslie, you’re bleeding.” 

“I think…I thought I might have hit my head on the corner of the table…" she grunted as she sat up a bit more and he looked on in horror. “It doesn’t hurt.” 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” 

“Is it bad?”  

“It’s…” Holy shit, that was a lot of fucking blood. He started to feel faint. “It seems kinda deep,” he managed tightly. 

She sat up more and her skin went from flushed to pallor very quickly. 

“I think I need, Ann.” 

“Okay okay, let’s…let’s call her, okay? We’ll call her,” his hands were shaking, but he had enough common sense to use her scarf to cover the wound. His fingers weren’t working properly on his phone and it was dark and he couldn't tell much, except that there was a lot of blood coming out of her and he wasn’t willing to abandon her to go find Ann. 

“Whoooooa!” Tom drawled, twirling around the corner in his Michael Jackson costume. “Get a room, weirdos. Just not my room because my sheets are Egyptian Cotton - ”

“Tom, get Ann!” Ben snapped out. “And a towel or something!” 

“Whoa, Leslie, are you okay?” Tom’s eyes bulged when he saw her blonde hair turning pink. 

“I hit my head on the table.”  

“What were you _doing_?” 

“Tom! Can you seriously just go get Ann!” 

“Right, right,” Tom hopped back to his feet. “Tommy’s on it.” 

He scampered down the hall. 

Ben pulled away from Leslie long enough to turn on a lamp and help her back to the couch while they waited. 

“What the hell happened!” Ann came running up with impressive speed, collapsing on the couch and wrapping an arm around Leslie. 

“I fell off and my head hit that table thing on the corner,” her words were slower and softer than seemed natural for her. 

“Oh god, okay, honey, Leslie,” Ann removed the scarf carefully and studied the wound for several long seconds. 

“Okay, Leslie, don’t freak out. This needs stitches, I think. You have to got to the hospital.” 

“Noooooo, Ann. I don’t like needles.” 

“Well I don’t like your head bleeding out all of Tom’s carpet, soooooo, up, up right now, we’re going to the hospital.” 

“Ann!” 

“Do you…what can I…can I help?” Ben stuttered, trying really hard to ignore the daggers Ann was shooting him. 

“Dude, grab her arm. I’ll see if we can…fuck, I can’t drive. Okay, I’ll call a cab. Just take her downstairs and try not to break anything else.” 

“Ann Perkins! I deduced there was a problem,” Chris rounded the corner. “From the way Tom told me you had a problem up here. Is everything - Leslie, what happened!?” 

“I was…I came up here…OW ANN, IT HURTS!” 

Ann waved her off, yelling something at the cab company and pacing a little. 

“Okay, fine. The cab won’t be here for fifteen minutes. Just keep pressure on it.” 

Good lord, this was the going down as the worst first kiss in the history of human kind. Stitches and a possible concussion…well done, Ice Clown. 

“Chris, help him get her downstairs.” Ann flailed. Chris dropped his pipe and leapt into action, winding Leslie’s arm around his neck while Ben tightened his grip around her waist and used his other hand to hold the scarf in place. 

The thing about Chris was, in crisis situations he was pretty effective. 

“Did you lose consciousness, Leslie?” 

“No no,” she groaned. “I didn’t even know I was bleeding until…” 

Her eyes met his for the briefest of instants and Ben hated himself a little more. 

“Until Ben found me and told me.” 

“That was nice of you to check on Leslie, Ben.” 

“Yeah,” Ben applied more pressure. “I’m a saint.” 

“From enemies to friends!” Chris announced pleasantly as they maneuvered the stairs. The party was still going, but Tom had known enough to clear a path in the hallway for them to help Leslie outside. Chris took off his Sherlock cape and wrapped her in it while they sat on the curb and waited for a cab. Ben kept checking the bleeding on her head to see if it stopped. The cut was deep, really deep. How the fuck had that even happened…? 

Ann came running out with a handful of their things a few minutes later and fidgeted until they finally saw the lights of the cab pulling down the street. Ann and Chris helped Leslie into the back while Ben shoved a wad of cash at the driver without even attempting to count it. His hands were still shaking, though not as badly as they’d been a few minutes before. 

Seriously, he went from making out with her to sending her to the Emergency Room. 

“I’ll call you,” Ann told Chris. Ben wondered how much of it was for his benefit but he couldn’t exactly ask. 

“Sure thing, Ann,” he dropped his head into the cab and said with great sincerity “Feel better, Leslie.” 

She whined something about needles again. 

“Ben, don’t you want to say something to Leslie?” Chris offered. 

“Uh, yeah,” he gulped and leaned in. “Feel…” he patted her arm awkwardly, Chris’s gaze on him. “Feel better.” 

Leslie’s eyes were bright and watery when she looked right at him and he froze. 

“Dude, are you serious?” Ann snapped, glaring at him like she hoped he might light on fire. She barked at the driver to go almost before he had time to remove his upper body from the cab and close the door. 

“Well that was unfortunate,” Chris sighed. “Lucky you found her when you did. I do hope she’s okay.” 

His phone vibrated and he checked it to see he had a new text from one, Ann Perkins. 

_You’re an idiot._

*****

He wasn’t sober enough to drive home and it was taking forever to get a cab because it was Halloween. Chris was recounting his part of Leslie’s story for the fourth time while Ben sat on the end of Tom’s bed and listened to his enthusiastic voice filtering in from the hallway. 

“Yoooo, Jello-Shot,” Tom sat beside him. “This party is dooope, I know, but what are you still doing here?” 

Ben lifted his head from his hands and stared. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean you just broke your girlfriend’s head fooling around with her and almost got blood all over my super sexy rug and now she’s in the hospital, so what are you doing still sitting here.” 

“She’s…she’s not my…” 

“Dude, please. Everyone can tell.” 

“Everyone?” He lifted an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, Ben, everyone. You might as well have been recreating the scene from Hot Shots in my kitchen,” He held up a glittery gloved hand, “Which is gross, by the way, don’t ever do that. But anyone with two eyes knows what the deal is,” he took a sip of his margarita. “Ugh, I’m so annoyed with your stupidity my margarita tastes bad now.” 

“Tom, that isn’t - ”

“Can you just go, please. Take your boring face to the hospital and go see your girlfriend and tell her you want to bone her or whatever it is nerds in love do because Leslie’s awesome and she doesn’t deserve you being stupid.” 

He glanced around. 

“Dude, what are you still doing here, go! Before Brendanawicz tries to beat you up.” 

“He’s…why?” 

“Because nobody hurts Leslie and doesn’t get the crap kicked out of them while she has us around so go. Go - ”

“Okay, I can’t leave right now! I can’t drive - ”

Tom sighed, thrusting a small laminated piece of paper in his direction. 

“Use the chart man and if you must you can borrow my wheels, but don’t scratch it…” 

“That’s…” Ben rolled the plastic in between his hands. “What is this?” 

“It’s Leslie’s chart. She made them for all of us, because she’s Leslie and she thinks about everyone else before she thinks about herself and she’s awesome and you made her feel - ”

“Okay, okay, I get it, I suck.” 

Abandoned, he imagined was the word Tom was looking for. 

“Hard.” 

“Yes Tom, hard. I suck hard, I…” he dropped his head in his hands again and took a breath. 

In the end, it was Tom giving him a little shove on the shoulder that sent him flying out the door once he’d waited the allotted period of time as indicated by The Chart. 

He’d thank him later.


	6. A Compelling Argument Against Overthinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, there are two ways this story could go now. I could either use the next chapter to start to wrap it up or include one more less-than-plotty chapter just for fun. I'm undecided which course to take. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading; reviews make me happy!

“Am I dying because I tried to make out with Ben? Is this my punishment?” 

“You can die from blood loss, which you’ve had plenty of and I don’t know why they’re taking so long to see you.” 

Leslie glanced at the clock. They’d only been seated in the uncomfortable blue plastic chairs for about fifteen minutes and she was pretty sure the bleeding had slowed significantly. She reached out and patted Ann’s arm. Her opalescent tree shark roommate/best friend was such a worrier. 

“I’m fine. I promise,” the words caught in her throat and tears stung her eyes. “We just got carried away.” 

“I can’t believe he didn’t even…why wouldn’t he…Ugh, what a moron. Maybe you were right the first time, Leslie. He might just be Ben the Jerk,” Ann found her hand. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry he…” she rested her cheek against her arm. “Honestly, I really thought he was gonna get in the cab.” 

“Me too,” a tear slipped out of Leslie’s eye, followed by another one. She felt silly crying because a guy she’d known for a month hadn’t turned out to be her night in shining armour. Not that he should be or she needed him to be, but he seemed like the type to want to be, even if it raised a few eyebrows. 

“But we were making out drunk at a party and he didn’t…I mean why would he? It’s not like we were together, together, you know?” 

Ann didn’t answer, examining her wound as the minutes on the clock ticked away. Late Night was on the grainy old TV in the corner, and Leslie could barely make out anyone’s faces, but it gave her something to look at while they waited. 

She really hadn’t expected this night to end that way. Best case scenario she’d imagined Batman coming home with her and kissing her all through her apartment on the way to the bedroom. 

Or even just on her doorstep. Even if he didn’t come inside, just holding her and kissing her and promising in four weeks they’d do it again and for real as Leslie and Ben. 

Ending up in the ER in costume with Ann pressing gauze to her head was maybe the second worst way the night could’ve ended. At least Ben didn’t get down on one knee and beg her never to call him again. At least he made sure she got into a cab and sat with her until Ann and Chris showed up. 

What Leslie _really_ did not expect was to glance up and see Batman standing in the doorway to the waiting room, holding a bejewelled, monogrammed (TH) duffel bag in his hand and looking like he wanted to disappear. At first he didn’t see her and she didn’t move, watching as his eyes searched the room with a flicker of desperation. 

Someone called out “Is Gotham safe!?” with an obnoxious laugh and that made Ann turn. She gawked for a full three seconds before muttering “whoa” and giving Leslie a little nudge. 

He looked relieved when he finally saw them, cape fluttering as he strode through the room. Ann pressed a snicker into Leslie’s arm. 

“Oh god, this might make up for it.” 

Leslie cackled behind her hand, shifting a little and holding her gauze more firmly. 

“Hello, Batman.” 

“Uh, hey,” he dropped to his knees right in front of her and took a breath. “I suck, like, I suck really really hard and I should’ve gone with you. I’m so sorry I didn’t. Tom…” He thrust her Inebriation Chart at her. “Tom gave me his copy of this because apparently it’s a thing?” he looked to Ann helplessly. 

“So I waited the required…35 minutes and then I told Chris what…what’s going on and he’s here, he came with me, and I brought…” he dug through the duffel bag and pulled out a hoodie. “I brought you this so you don’t have to wait in a Sherlock Holmes cape.” 

“Chris is here?” Ann studied him intently. 

“He’s…yeah he’s just parking the car.” 

“So what, what did you tell him?” Leslie blurted out and Ben’s eyes landed on hers.

“I told him…I told him everything and why I had to be here and could we talk about the implications later because I really just needed to get…here. And then he said he’d drive me.” 

He reached for her hand tentatively, as though he was afraid she might recoil. When she didn’t he pulled it to his lips. 

“Leslie, I’m so sorry. How long did they…?” 

“They didn’t,” Ann piped up. “They’re pretty busy tonight.” 

Someone made another Batman joke and Ben rolled his eyes while Ann flipped them her middle finger.

“So, I’m…I’m going to stay and if you don’t want me to sit with you I’ll wait,” he looked around. “Way…over there somewhere. And if people ask me what I’m doing I’ll say I’m waiting for my girlfriend because that’s what you are…as far as I, and apparently everyone else, are concerned.” 

He kissed her hands again. Her fingers felt frozen wrapped in his and she shivered. 

“You can wait here.”

“What else you got there?” Ann peered into the duffel bag. Ben looked sheepish. 

“Uh, clothes. I thought I might…change quickly. Is that…is that okay?” 

Ann lifted an eyebrow and Leslie cackled before turning back to him. He seemed scared. 

“You’re allowed to change,” she clucked her tongue, reaching out and cupping his neck. 

“But can I have a kiss please while you’re still Batman?” 

“Sorry, Rosie,” he bumped his lips against her forehead. “You’ll have to wait until I’m Ben again.” 

She snickered as she watched him stride out with a twirl of his cape, resting her head against Ann who draped her arm around her and tried to hide a yawn. 

“You don’t have to stay if you’re tired.” 

“Of course I’m staying,” Ann rubbed her shoulder. “Where would I go?” 

“Do you want this?” She plucked at the Sherlock Holmes cape. “I’ll wear the hoodie.” 

“In a minute. That’s pretty cute he showed up. He’s scored some points back.” 

“He said girlfriend, right? Or was I just hallucinating? Maybe my brain’s bleeding.” 

“He said girlfriend.” 

She couldn’t help it, she grinned. 

*****

“Ann Perkins, Leslie Knope,” Chris swooped in offering them a big smile. “Leslie, how are you? Ben told me everything.” 

“That’s what he said.” 

“And I don’t want you to worry about anything right now,” he stared at her earnestly. “I want you to just relax and feel better.” 

“Sure,” Leslie straightened when Ben walked back towards them, in a too tight black t-shirt and tear away track pants that were very obviously Tom’s. 

“Ann, would you like to accompany me for a cup of tea?” 

Ann sat up, glancing back at Chris and then between Leslie and Ben. 

“Uh, Les?” 

“Sure. Go, if you…” Did she tell Ann she wanted her to leave? _Did_ she want her to leave? 

“We’ll be back soon,” Chris reassured her, offering Ann his hand and peeling her out of the chair. Ben settled on Leslie’s other side, dropping the duffel bag at his feet and watching as Chris and Ann retreated out of the room. 

“You called me your girlfriend.” 

“Multiple times actually,” he reached for her hand and jostled it lightly. “Tom said it and then I think I yelled it at the desk clerk when I came in. It’s all kind of a blur.”

He lifted his arm, pulling her against him and replacing her hand over the gauze. 

“They said not to sleep yet in case it’s a concussion.” 

“What’s really unfortunate is I’m forever going to be paranoid about making out on the couch now.” 

“That is unfortunate. Making out on couches is awesome.” 

“Tell me about it.” 

She smiled, pressing her face to his neck and exhaling. He tapped her chin with his forefinger, tilting it when she looked up and kissing her softly. It lacked any of the passion from earlier, but it was simple and sweet and she melted into him. 

“So just so we’re clear, that’s Ben doing that.” 

“Right. Because Batman making out with Rosie didn’t work out so well for them.” 

She tugged on his neck to press their lips together more fully. Because he called her his girlfriend and she was totally allowed to. 

“Leslie Knope!” A brusk woman in scrubs appeared at the doorway and Leslie sighed, pulling away and waving her hand. Ben grabbed the bag, shuffling behind her through a long corridor until they reached a cot surrounded by curtains. Leslie sat carefully as the nurse peered over her cut and made note of something. 

The nurse grilled Ben on the circumstances of Leslie’s injury. He got adorably flustered and kept fidgeting and rocking on the balls of his feet. When the woman left, he settled in a chair beside the bed. 

“You alright?” 

“I hate needles.” 

“But what you would hate more would be your brains starting to leak out and all the campaign speeches you’ve saved up over the years just…falling out of there.” 

“That’s true,” she admitted. “I don’t think that nurse likes you.” 

He kissed her fingers. “You want me to try and get Ann back?”

“It's okay. She'll be here soon.” 

***** 

Ann did find them, but not until after the doctor had come and gone and put staples in her head. 

He _stapled_ her head. Actual staples. With a staple gun that was basically something she would use to hang banners. Leslie had watched in horror as he’d examined her with rough fingers and drawn this conclusion and Ben's eyes bulged out just a little. 

“Kay,” he took a breath. “So you’ll just, look at me, right? They’ll give you some of that freezing stuff and you won’t even know he’s doing it.” 

“I’ll know,” she murmured darkly. The doctor didn’t talk much or do anything to reassure her, he simply removed his materials and laid them out on a tray, making her squeak when he stuck a needle in her skin that he grumbled was anesthetic. 

Ben did not look impressed. 

“Hey, uh, maybe give her some warning?” he suggested, voice rife with sarcasm. The doctor mumbled something else and Ben rolled his eyes and squeezed her hand tighter. 

“Ben,” she squeaked. “Ben, I hate needles.” 

“You said that; I know.” 

“I think I’m gonna hate staples more. Craponacrayfish,” she squeezed his hand tighter and he seemed to be gritting his teeth. She wondered what she would be like during childbirth - she might break his fingers. 

Not that she was thinking about having children…never mind, she had a concussion. 

Much to Leslie’s surprise, she did barely feel it when the staples went in. Just a little pinch and a cool, tingly sensation as he cleaned off the area with an antiseptic pad and bandaged her up. The doctor made her look at him then and spent a few minutes examining her. 

“You remember everything?” He growled. “You didn't black out?” 

She shook her head as best she could. Why was he so grumpy? Maybe he was overworked. Maybe medical schools in Indiana needed more funding to accept more students so they could hire more doctors and current doctors would be less tired and grumpy. 

She should put that in an idea binder. 

“No vomiting? Dizziness?” 

“No,” she swallowed. “I was kind of shaken up when it happened and it stung, but…” 

He glanced at Ben who gulped. 

“She seemed okay.” 

“We’re going to keep you for observation for a little while, just in case. Is he staying?” 

“Uh, yeah, if,” he lowered his voice. “If you want me to.” 

She nodded eagerly and was rewarded with a returning smile that made her feel warm all over. 

And then Ann pushed through the curtain and started yapping to the doctor, barking questions and demanding answers as Leslie allowed her eyes to flutter shut, because Ann Perkins was the best almost-nurse in the world who would handle everything, and her fingers were curled tightly around Ben’s. 

***** 

Ann and Chris were up and sitting on the couch when they walked in after being discharged several hours later. Upon waking from a little nap, Ben had informed her that Chris had taken Ann home in a cab because she looked ready to pass out and left them the car. Ben had wrapped her back up in his hoodie and half-guided, half-carried her out of the hospital, pointing out it snowed overnight and linking hands the entire drive back to the apartment. The doctor said she seemed fine, but Ben was under strict instructions to bring her back if she started acting funny. 

Chris had changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants and Ann was in PJs, though she still had makeup and glitter on her face from the night before. She was chewing her nails and Chris was rubbing the back of her neck. Ann fussed over her for a good ten minutes before she was finally allowed to go to her room. 

It wasn’t _exactly_ the way she wanted Ben to take her to bed for the first time, but it was still pretty nice. He helped her get undressed, averting his eyes when she took off her bra and pulled her t-shirt on. It was still dark, though the first rays of dawn had started to peek over the horizon. As soon as she was finally lying down, Leslie felt wide awake. Naturally. 

The camomile tea Ann provided her with didn’t help. Because camomile tea was gross and she didn’t drink any of it. 

She couldn’t tell if Ben had dozed off after a while, but when his thumb brushed her hipbone and he kissed her cheek she curled towards him. 

“Go to sleep.” 

“I can’t, I’m not tired. Will the light bother you if I - ”

“If you even think about trying to do work or study right now I might kill you,” his tone was dry and laced with amusement. He kissed her shoulder. 

“I’ll put a movie on.” 

“Okay.” She watched his back as he fumbled with the remote to her VCR and then went out to the living room only to return with a stack of videos. She didn’t really care what he picked, but she named one and he played it, making sure her bedroom door was shut all the way before sliding back in and curling around her. 

“Try and sleep though, okay?” He kissed behind her ear and cuddled her more tightly, face burrowed into her skin. 

Sleeping or not, she’d definitely be okay to stay like this for a while. 

***** 

When she opened her eyes next the sun was up and Ben was snoring softly beside her. She’d shifted onto her back, but he was on his side, arm still draped over her belly. His scruff was pretty heavy and she reached out, brushing it with her fingers. 

Ben Wyatt was asleep in her bed. 

It would be mean to wake him, since he sat up with her at the hospital the entire night, but he looked so adorable it was tempting. 

He lifted his hand and tapped her wrist lightly, rumbling for her to go back to sleep. She smiled, stroking his jaw a few times before snuggling closer and kissing his nose. 

“You okay?” He rubbed the back of her forearm and tightened his hold on her. “You need anything?” 

“No, I’m okay.” 

“Kay,” he slid his hand up her torso and rubbed her chest before sliding back down to her waist. 

“Sleep a little more, babe.”

“Ben?” the endearment made her giddy. Leslie squirmed so they were nose to nose, sharing his pillow. 

“Mhmm?” 

She kissed him softly, lingering. He pressed back for just a second before dropping his face to the crook of her neck. His breathing changed when he fell back asleep and it made her smile ridiculously hugely. 

***** 

Leslie couldn’t tell if she’d slept more or not when Ann poked her head into the room; it was like falling asleep on an airplane where your surroundings stayed exactly the same and you weren’t sure if any time had passed until you looked at the clock. 

“Hey,” her voice was low and raspy. “Ben still asleep?” 

Leslie nodded, rubbing his hand. She felt like herself again (save for the gaping hole in her head) and wanted to get up, but she knew Ann wouldn’t let her. 

“We’re gonna go get some groceries and clothes and toiletries for Ben.” 

“Buy Halloween candy too.” 

Ann rolled her eyes. “Make sure you wake up Boy Wonder if you need anything - ”

“Boy Wonder is Robin.” 

“Uh huh,” Ann padded over carefully and Leslie sat up so she could examine the bandages. “We’ll change it when I get back.” 

“Is it okay?”    
“Yeah, it’s fine. Do you feel okay?” 

“I think so.” She shifted to her elbows and Ben made a muffled sound, curling against her more. The both snickered silently. 

“He’s cuddly.” 

“I know.” 

“I’m glad he stopped being an idiot,” Ann leaned over and kissed her forehead, cupping her cheeks. “I love you. Try not to break anything else while I’m gone.” 

When the door to her bedroom closed again Ben groaned loudly. 

“So, I didn’t dream it,” He grumbled. “That was actually the worst first kiss ever.” 

“It wasn’t my worst ever,” she offered, shifting down beside him and twisting her head as best she could. His nose brushed hers while he dragged his knuckles across the little patch of skin revealed by her t-shirt. 

“One time I tried to kiss a guy and he jumped back and fell down a flight of stairs.” 

His brown eyes snapped open and he stared at her. “Actually?” 

“At a party freshman year I kissed a guy and then he threw up on me.” 

“Gross.” 

“One time when I was thirteen we were playing spin the bottle and the bottle landed on me and the guy who spun it ran away scream - ”

He cut her off with a kiss, holding her face in his palm. When his finger drew a heart on her skin she rolled in, sliding on top of him and pushing her tongue passed his lips. His hands tightened, kissing back harder. One palm slid up to cup her breast and she moaned as he tugged her lower lip between his teeth. 

“This is about where I fucked it up, right?” 

She laughed softly, holding his face between her fingers and shivering when he trailed a finger down her spine. He propped up and glanced around, hand moving back to her breast and flicking her nipple as his lips slid to her neck. 

“No tables?” he rolled slowly, keeping his hand on her back. “No Batman cape.”

She sighed contently, arching into him as he kissed through her t-shirt. 

“What’s a Lil’ Sebastian?” 

“He’s a mini horse. He’s amazing.” 

He flicked her nipple again and she shivered. “So, like a pony?” 

“He’s not a pony, he’s a mini horse!” 

Ben lifted his head and stared at her. “Oh..kay. Sorry?” 

“He’s got an honorary degree from Notre Dame. He’s the greatest mini horse that ever lived.” 

“What does he do?” 

“He does being a mini horse and he does it better than anyone.” 

“Okay, okay, gooooot it,” he held up a palm and shifted slightly off of her. “He’s old enough to be here for this?” 

“Yessssssss, Ben - ohhhh god,” his mouth landed on her nipple, rolling his tongue over it through her t-shirt. 

“Ben, Ben,” she whispered for no reason. She slid her fingers through her hair and oh god, how had she waited this long to do that. It was soft and thick and she might spend the rest of her life just doing that, messing and unmessing his hair. 

When she wasn’t running the country, of course. 

“You’re okay?” 

She nodded eagerly as he shifted to her other breast, not bothering to remove her t-shirt as he licked and nibbled and held her hips in his hands until she pulled him back to her mouth. The Lil’ Sebastian barrier was simultaneously frustrating her and turning her on even more…

Twenty minutes after that he was inside her. 

***** 

“You had _sex_?” Ann squealed. “And you tell me that via a text message? Leslie! How was it?” 

Ben had gone to shower when Ann had come back to check on her (they suspected he sensed girl time was needed) and Leslie’d spilled out everything - everything - to the tiniest, grittiest detail of what went down. She normally wasn’t so descriptive about her sexcapades but she felt like Ann needed to hear it all to appreciate what happened…

Because it was…not like any sex she’d ever had before. It was soft and lazy Saturday morning sex like Leslie imagined couples had when they’d been together forever. They didn’t even really take off their clothes, moving pertinent pieces out of the way and lying on their sides facing each other because she couldn’t rest on her staples and they were both still pretty exhausted. She had sex with Ben for the first time in her Lil’ Sebastian t-shirt. 

One minute they were making out and the next one of them was reaching for a condom (she couldn’t even remember who) and her leg was hiked up over his hip and every thrust was slow and deep and torturous and it seemed like they could’ve stayed there forever. They whispered and fingers brushed over skin with a familiarity she couldn’t have predicted, and his scruff grated against her palm as he tried to press further into her mouth. 

It just _happened_. 

“Wait, so he didn’t even ask you if you were sure, or…” 

“No no no, he…he did!” He had. With a wet kiss off-centre of her mouth and then to her jaw, he’d asked as he brushed his tip against her. And she’d nodded and kissed back and pulled him closer without any thoughts actually running through her head. What a weird feeling…

Her brain had literally turned off and when it was over it was like waking up from a dream. She was pretty sure there was a pros and cons list somewhere about whether she should or shouldn’t be having sex with Ben and she didn’t even remember to look at it until after it was over and he’d gone to clean up in the bathroom.

After weeks of torture there was no build up and no serious conversations about where their relationship was going; no pomp, all circumstance. Just them, half asleep in her bed in a way that seemed too insignificant and borderline-careless for their first time together, but was somehow still perfect. 

But yes, left alone with her thoughts in the aftermath, it was overwhelming. 

“I just have never…we got so caught up in it my brain stopped and then when it came back on I freaked out a little. It’s fine. I didn't want to stop. I just…That’s never happened before.”

“Was it good?” 

“Yes.” 

Earth-shattering? No. Headboard rattling, loud moaning, give-the-neighbours-something-to-complain about good? Definitely not. But it had seemed so intimate and she felt it from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. It was as if the joining of their bodies was just another way for them to connect, an extension of his fingers sliding through her hair and his tongue tangled with hers. 

It had been so…loving. 

“You love him. Awwww.” 

“No! I didn’t say that.”

“You looooooove him.” 

“Shhhhhh,” Leslie glanced at the door, because after what had just happened she wasn’t entirely sure that wasn’t true, especially after the way he’d held her face in his hands when it was over. 

“So tell me, what’s Chris been like? Is he gonna get Ben in trouble?” 

“He didn’t even care, he just smiled and said good. Ben deserves to be happy.” 

“Wait, actually?”  

“I know. Bromance.” 

“Bros before hoes.” 

“Wait, are we the hoes?” 

“No…it’s just…a figure of speech. Like ovaries before brovaries.” 

“Right.” 

Ann paused a beat, tracing the outline of a flower on her bedspread. 

“You know I just want you to be happy, right? And I’m so stupidly happy for you, Les.” 

“Me too,” she sighed. 

***** 

“Leslie,” Ben sounded firm with a sliver of irritation that made her twitch. She turned away from her desk to face him just as his hands found her shoulders and he kissed hair. 

“No studying.”  

“We have that test next week.” 

“You’re resting,” he nipped at her ear, distracting her enough to close the books for her. “And you don’t need to study.” 

“I do, I have to - ”

“You really, really don’t. Come on, I’ll make you some dinner. Ann and Chris will be back in a bit.” 

She let him pull her to her feet, realization dawning on her as they meandered into the kitchen. 

“Wait, are we alone?” 

He still hadn’t shaved and it was totally doing it for her. After talking to Ann she really just wanted to jump his bones. 

Ben quirked a smile at her. 

“Yes, we are alone. You’re resting though and as fun as this morning was, we probably should go easy on the…exertion.” 

“I’m rested,” she sidled up beside him, standing on tip toe and pulling on his shoulders. For as much as he insisted it wasn’t happening, he certainly leaned down so her lips could reach his neck. 

“Leslie,” he sighed finally, gulping when her teeth flashed against his skin. “Let’s not give Ann another reason to want to kill me.” 

“What ifffffff,” she tugged on his hands, backing up towards the couch. “We just don’t tell Ann.” 

“Well, I’m not the one who always tells Ann.” 

She giggled and he nuzzled her, murmuring she was sounding like herself again. 

“I guess you didn’t break my brain after all. Plus, we have to show the couches of the world who’s boss.” 

He snorted, rubbing his nose against her skin and sliding his mouth across her throat and then her jaw. She grinned, tugging his lips to hers and nipping. Now she had him. 

Their first make out might have ended badly, but the subsequent ones were definitely making up for it. 

***** 

“Ben?” 

She was lying on his arm as his thumb drew circles against her neck. Her eyes felt strained, but she didn’t want to sleep yet. Ann had called Leslie twice (and Ben once) to check on her and make sure it was okay she spent the night at Chris’s. Leslie suspected she was really just trying to give them some time alone. 

Ann Perkins was the best friend ever. 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you really not think you could run for office again?” 

He stiffened against her and his hand stopped moving. 

“Sometimes.” 

“But,” she shifted up to face him. “Everyone does dumb stuff when they’re eighteen. If being stupid as a teenager meant your life was ruined…” 

“Sometimes - ” he thumbed her chin. “But not when I’m with you. Okay?” 

Well, that made her feel about ten feet tall. 

“You shouldn’t need to be around me to feel like your potential isn’t gone.” 

“Orrrr,” he kissed her, lifting her across his body and rolling her underneath him. “You could just always be around and then I won’t have to worry about it.” 

“I’m serious though,” she squirmed onto her knees. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself so much. You’ll be done your Masters soon and then you’ll get a job and in a few years…” 

Her mouth went dry. It suddenly occurred to her that after next semester they would both be done school and she would go back to Pawnee and he would…where would he end up? Was there an endpoint for their relationship before it’d even started?

Ben sat up and kissed her chest chastely. 

“You’re overthinking stuff.” 

 “I’m not.” 

“You are,” he pulled her down again and his tongue flicked her earlobe sending a little throb to her centre. She gasped, clutching at his arms and leaning into him. 

Okay, maybe she was overthinking stuff. 

***** 

They spent all day Sunday lazing around the apartment. Ben made waffles, they went for a walk in the afternoon, Ann and Chris had dinner with them and the four of them curled up to watch a movie. She actually kind of wished the weekend was longer for once. 

On Monday Ben woke her up (at 5am, because he apparently knew that was the only way he’d be awake before she was) with waffles and kisses and they made good use of the extra time before he had to head off to meet Dr. Anderson and Chris. Chris led another tutorial session that afternoon, but she skipped it because her boyfriend insisted she knew her stuff and should rest more, which translated to making out more. 

Ben told her they’d agreed that Chris would be marking her work from now on and they just weren’t going to mention anything to Anderson and be discrete while on campus. 

On Tuesday she woke up well before Ben and he pouted adorably when she tried to rouse him the same way he’d done the day before. He was less amenable to it until she went down on him. She made note of how visceral his reaction was because that would totally be to her advantage later. 

That night she studied for her test and then they cuddled on the couch and ate ice cream and watched the news. 

When her mom called on Wednesday after her test to see how she was doing Leslie had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out she was 98% certain she was totally and completely in love with Ben Wyatt. She stayed in with Ann that night and they talked about boys, flipped through Cosmo and drank Shirley Temples. 

She didn’t tell Ann she kind of missed Ben when she went to bed without him. Because ovaries before brovaries.

On Thursday she slept at his place, eyeing the stack of test booklets he’d spent most of the day marking and wondering if hers was hanging around somewhere. 

“Chris has yours.” 

“Did he finish - ”

“No, Leslie. We’re not doing this.” 

“I just want to know if he’s done!” 

“And I couldn’t tell you,” he kissed her neck. “But I’ve been staring at those damn things all day and I really, really don’t want to talk about it right now.” 

He convinced her to let him go down on her on the couch with Indiana Jones on in the background. They curled up in bed later and kissed until he was yawning and though her mind was back to racing a mile a minute, she didn’t get up. She was too happy just to lie there and watch him sleep while she processed the last week. 

On Friday her staples came out and though her head hadn’t hurt for days, it was a big relief to be able to lie down normally again. 

And lie down she did. They went to her place and ten minutes after they crossed the threshold to her bedroom she was in the middle of what was completely, without a doubt, the absolute best sex of her life. It left them both in a sweaty tangle of sheets and she started cackling when Ben casually asked if Ann was home as he drew his name on her stomach. She had no idea. 

Turns out, Ann was home. 

She blushed _just_ a little when they stumbled out of the bedroom and Leslie did too. Ben bit his lip, going redder than all of them and saying he had to get something from his car. 

When the door closed Leslie breathed “Sorry” and Ann lifted an eyebrow. 

“How was - ”

“Ohhhh my god.” It sounded a little too much like something she’d said over and over again a few minutes before, but there were just no other words and they both started laughing. 

Ben took her out for dinner that night - their first official date. They dressed nicely and drank wine and strolled along the street until they found a little place to have dessert. Staring at him over a piece of cheesecake it occurred to her if he proposed right then she’d say yes. 

Probably. 

She thought. 

There would always be time for a quick pros and cons list on the way to City Hall. 

Agreeing to a marriage proposal in post-incredible-mind-numbing orgasm stupor seven days after your first kiss was a con, right?


	7. Pawnee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of touchy feely. You have been warned. 
> 
> Also, I think I finally have an endgame.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

“Are you sure you don’t want to go play Risk with them?” 

He stared at her incredulously. 

“Are you kidding me?” 

Chris had arrived with Barney and Tim, the other half of Anderson’s TA group, calling to see if he was in and Barney proudly declaring they’d got him a calzone. They were supposed to go to the bar together later, which Ben had said he would join them for, but he was also supposed to have the apartment to himself for at least another hour. 

Like you could even finish a game of Risk in an hour. Why even start? What was the point? He’d still be mobilizing his forces to gain some territory in Asia when it would be time to go. And the integrity of the game would be lost because everyone knew Risk had to be played all in one sitting. 

Plus, he’d coerced Leslie back to his place after he’d left campus with a lot of R-rated promises and he intended to deliver. 

“I mean they’re your friends so if you wanted to go and play with them I’d totally understand.”

“Babe,” he stared at her, his cheek resting against the inside of her leg, her blue and orange polka dot panties on the floor beside his bed. “Look where I am.” 

Her giggle turned into a moan when he dragged his tongue along the crest of her thigh. 

“I said I’d go out with them later and I will,” he flashed his teeth against her pale skin. “But later.” 

She moaned again, arching off the bed and running her fingers through her hair. He glanced over at his bedroom door that was still open a crack. Because they were supposed to be _alone_. 

“You have to be quiet,” he murmured. He could get up and close it but the doors were creaky and he was afraid they might hear it click shut. And then they’d want to know why he was awake and home and ignoring them and then they’d want to know where he met a girl and then they’d want to meet her and even though Chris had been cool about everything, he wasn’t sure he could trust the other two to not tell Anderson. 

She nodded, her face flushed and her eyes warm with arousal. He took a breath and pulled back to kiss her knee before moving back to where her fingers were tugging him. She groaned and tugged on his hair as soon as his tongue started to move against her and he stopped, nipping at her thigh. 

“Seriously babe, you have to be quiet.” 

“I am!” 

Leslie Knope was _never_ quiet when he did this. He’d learned that very, very fast and it was part of the fun of it. During actual intercourse? Yes. Sometimes. She’d get all soft and raspy and sometimes hold her breath when she came. But when he used his mouth? There wasn’t a quiet bone in her body. 

Fuck, she was so pretty. Her soft blond hair splayed all over his navy blue pillowcase, her smooth white skin with a few sparse freckles flushed pink, her big blue eyes wide and clear. 

He kissed her stomach, rubbing his cheek against her before he settled back to work. 

She came biting a throw pillow his mom and Steph had given him to put on his bed it looked “nice”. Apparently it had another function as well. He crawled up and she giggled, pulling him in for a long, slow kiss and panting heavily.

He rubbed her leg, slotting his hips against hers and pressing against her. She reached between them and rubbed him against her. He groaned and bit her shoulder. 

“Better than Risk?” 

He nodded, shifting against her and sinking into her. They both gasped. 

The sound of footsteps in the hall stopped them. Leslie stared at him in horror, but the door didn’t open and nobody knocked. Instead it closed with a soft, almost inaudible click and they heard Chris’s voice echo from the other side: 

“I guess Ben must still be out! I’ll put his calzone in the fridge and we’ll meet him at the bar.” 

He dropped his forehead to hers and she exhaled. He kissed her sloppily, groaning when her tongue found his and his hips started to move. 

“I _told you_ you weren’t being quiet.” 

*****

“You can stay if you want. Ann’s out with Shauna, right?” 

She was sitting in his bed wearing his t-shirt and he was seriously reconsidering his decision to go out with the guys at all. He pulled on clothes as she flipped through a magazine. 

“Yeah, I might meet them at the movie. What bar are you going to?” 

He told her, dipping down to kiss her lips. “Don’t go to there afterwards, though. It’s kinda shitty and sleazy.” 

She gave him a cute little eyebrow raise and he kissed her again, starting to crawl back into bed

“Ben, nooo,” she pushed on his chest, laughing. “You’re going. You’re going out.” 

“Ugh,” he rolled, settling his head in her lap. She laughed, stroking his hair. She was always stroking his hair when they were in bed. Her small, nimble fingers massaging his scalp was more arousing than it should be. “But if we stay here we’d actually be alone alone and,” he kissed her thigh. “We could go for a walk in the snow and then take a shower and make hot chocolate - ”

“Beeeeeeen, noooo, bros before hoes. Ovaries before brovaries.” 

He snorted, kissing her arm and sitting upright. She had a point, they’d basically been attached at the hip since that day at the hospital. Socializing with other people might be a good idea. Except, he’d much rather take her out _with him_. But he couldn’t. Not for another couple of weeks.

“Maybe,” she murmured. “There’s a sexy, well-read blonde at the bar drinking a martini who’s just looking for someone to take her home and a dark stranger with a cute butt and a taut, narrow frame will come and talk to her.” 

Her compliments were insane, but he still groaned, cupping her cheeks and pressing their lips together one more time. Weird compliments from Leslie Knope made him feel like he was in the same league as Ann and that was a pretty important league to be in. 

“Don’t get a martini,” he pecked her lips, handing her his house key off his key chain. “You won’t like it; it’s not sweet enough. I’ll see you in a bit.” 

She grinned at him slyly as he forced himself out the door. 

*****

“What time’s Mark coming?” He rubbed her hip. Her hair was still damp from her shower and it smelled like citrus today. He kept meaning to ask her where her cotton candy shampoo had gone. That damn shampoo still made him half-hard. 

“In an hour.” 

Ann had left for Michigan for Thanksgiving that morning and Chris had headed to Wisconsin the night before. Mark was driving Leslie back to Pawnee that afternoon. Ben wasn’t going to Partridge for Thanksgiving and he was honestly wondering if he could get out of Christmas too. Almost six years later and nobody let him forget Ice Town when he went back there. It was only a little disheartening. 

And by a little, he meant completely and totally. 

“Why’s he coming so early?” he kissed her ear. 

“His mom wants him back for a family dinner tonight,” she squirmed onto her belly. “You’re not…it’s not a problem he’s - ”

“No, no,” he rubbed her back. “God, no.” He actually did like Mark. They’d hung out a few more times and they’d even ended up watching part of a hockey game together when Leslie got caught up with some debacle related to Ann, Chris and an ex-girlfriend. Mark was pretty relaxed most of the time, which was a good counterbalance to the high-strung nature of the rest of their group. In a way, he was more similar to Mark than any of her other friends. 

Which was weird. It got weird again. He shouldn’t think about that. 

Ben wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t a jealous guy by nature and though she did make him a little crazy it was hard to be jealous when she just seemed so happy to be with him all the time. Even her mom had commented on how she “sounded different”. 

He held her hips as she threw a leg over him. She was only wearing a bathrobe and his hand instinctively went to her centre. She murmured and he kissed her chin. 

“I just don’t want you to go.” 

“You know, there is a way I could leave later.” 

He arched an eyebrow. “There is?” 

“ _You_ could drive me. And have Thanksgiving with me. And I could show you around Pawnee and we could visit all the parks and City Hall and we’d have dinner with my mom and Jeff tomorrow and you could meet her and…” 

“Uh, your mom is terrifying.” He’d answered her phone once (she’d asked him to) and it was her Marlene Griggs-Knope who grilled him for eighteen minutes before telling him not to get her daughter pregnant. 

“I can prep you,” she rubbed his arms. “I don’t want you to spend Thanksgiving alone.” 

“And I don’t want your mom being disappointed you’re dating Ice Town.” 

“She won’t be! She’s kind of intimidating, but you’re smart and responsible and she’ll love you, because I…” she trailed off and her cheeks tinged pink. He held his breath without realizing it, but she looked away abruptly. 

_Fuck, this was happening._

“Because I love you?” he suggested. His voice sounded shaky to his own ears, but he knew he meant it. Her watched her mouth spread into a soft little smile and he caressed her hips. 

“Because I do, Leslie Knope,” he managed an awkward smile. “I…I love you.” 

“I love you.” 

She said it quickly, as if she went at a normal speed she wouldn’t believe it to be true, or she was afraid he wouldn’t believe she meant it. He cupped her face and kissed her slowly. 

“Call Mark.” 

“Really?!” 

God, he might really, really regret this, even if he couldn’t see how that was possible in the present moment. He slid his lips across her collarbone while she dialled, smiling against her skin as she prattled on happily, telling Mark Ben would drive her and he should come the Ramsett Park with them on Friday. 

He helped her out of her bathrobe as she finished warning her mother she was bringing him home (Marlene couldn’t _wait_ to meet him apparently) and he was getting very, very rewarded for agreeing to go to Pawnee shortly after that. 

When he held her against him in the aftermath he started calculating how many miles he had left in his gas tank and whether he had the right clothes clean for Thanksgiving dinner with Marlene Griggs-Knope. 

He doubted he did. Good thing her daughter loved him. 

***** 

She was beaming from ear to ear when they hit the road later that afternoon. She’d brought five CDs for their trip as well as two books on tape and kept shifting in her seat because she simply couldn't sit still. 

“Leslie,” he reached out a hand and squeezed her knee. “We’re still a ways away.” 

“But you’re coming to Pawnee with me,” she turned to face him, leaning her cheek against the seat rest. “I can’t believe you’re coming to Pawnee with me.” 

“It’s uh…” It felt important he liked it. Like, critically, relationship deal breaker if he didn’t, equivalent to not liking somebody’s child or their dog. 

“You’ll like it. Pawnee’s special.” 

He could believe that if she was a byproduct of Pawnee. 

“Okay, I’ve prepared a list of topics for you to discuss with my mom.” 

The list of topics included Calvin & Hobbes, Andrew Carnegie and Deliverance the movie. By the time they got to Pawnee he felt less prepared and more nervous ( _Deliverance???_ ), but Leslie was practically glowing in the passenger seat and that relaxed him a little. 

“What’s Jeff like?” 

“I don’t really know him that well. I only met him in the summer for a bit. He seems okay. She never really settled with anyone after my dad.” 

“What was your dad like?” 

She looked over at him, eyes brimming with tears instantly. He snaked out a hand to grab hers. 

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

 “No no,” She swallowed. “He wasn’t like any of her boyfriends. She can be intimidating and she usually dates guys that try and go toe-to-toe with her all the time, but my dad seemed to know when to pick his battles.” 

Her dad sounded like a smart guy. He imagined picking your battles with Leslie or her mother was probably a very wise course of action. 

As they drove she continued to talk about Pawnee, pointing out the parks and the “racoon part of town” and telling him about Pawnee’s colourful history (there were a lot of atrocities) and how Eagletonians were the worst. 

Eagletonians, librarians (“punk ass book jockeys”) and a lack of whipped cream was currently the list of Things Unacceptable to Leslie Knope he had growing in his brain. 

Pawnee wasn’t big, so they pulled up to Marlene’s house pretty soon. He parked on the driveway, delighting in the big kiss she gave him but also kind of wondering if her mother might be watching them from the window. He edged her away gently when he felt himself get a little too excited. 

“Remember, be assertive,” she whispered in his ear as she turned her key to the front door. “And smart. Be assertive and smart.” 

Assertive and smart. No pressure. 

Leslie and Marlene hugged in the kitchen and despite her all-business, clipped tone they both seemed genuinely happy to see each other. Marlene declared that Jeff would be around in a little while (he did something for the school board) and maybe they’d want to decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Leslie seemed thrilled with this prospect, grinning when she turned back to him. 

“Mom, this is Ben.” 

“Right, Ben,” she held out a hand that he shook firmly. “Nice to meet you. Glad you could join us.” 

The realization he’d conceded to coming partly to keep her daughter naked in bed for a couple of extra hours hit him then. He blushed, but managed a soft (but assertive, he thought) “Thank you for having me.” 

Marlene sized him up, giving Leslie a little smirk and turning back to the stove. 

“You guys must be starving. Dinner’s almost ready.” 

Leslie’s jaw tensed and he saw her swallow noticeably. 

“You…you didn’t order in? It’s so late, why don’t we just pick something up? We’ll go…” 

“Well, Jeff’s cooking tomorrow so I figured I might as well tonight. It’s just soup and grilled cheese.” 

Relief flooded Leslie’s face. Apparently soup and grilled cheese were manageable for the formidable Marlene Griggs-Knope. 

“Ben, would you like to take those bags upstairs before we eat?” 

“Oh,” he stammered, realizing he was still holding their overnight bags in his left hand. “Yeah, right. Uh, which…” 

“Leslie’s room is the first door on the left and the guest bedroom is at the back of the hall.” 

Leslie whirled and Ben felt clammy as Marlene stared at him pointedly. 

“Right,” he gulped. “I will just go - ”

“I’m kidding!” Marlene cackled. “Obviously, I’m kidding. Relax, Ben. This is going to be fun. Don’t look so nervous.” 

Leslie muttered something under her breath to Marlene, but he caught her trying not to smile too, grabbing his hand and steering him out of the kitchen. 

***** 

Her bedroom was amazing. 

Plaques and trophy’s and certificates and photos - photos everywhere. Photos from Debate Club and Model UN and Yearbook and softball and soccer. Photos from when she won Class President in her senior year and photos of her and Marlene and, in a few older ones, her father at various locations (mostly within Pawnee, though they had one at the Grand Canyon when Leslie looked about six). The room just seemed to burst with fun and passion and love and great memories and it overwhelmed him a little. His room was sad and dark and gloomy and how could someone with a room so cheery love someone with a room so depressing? 

Her bedspread was a soft, colourful quilt. He leaned over to study it more closely and realized every patch was very specific and _very Leslie_. 

“I made it,” she informed him. “I make quilts, sometimes I make unity quilts. In the ninth grade I made a unity quilt to end an argument between my two best friends. It worked. Unity quilts always work.” 

“You made this?” he sat on the bed and traced the outline of a racoon (yes, a racoon) with his finger. “This is amazing.” 

She smiled, coming to stand between his knees and resting her hands on his shoulders. 

“I’m really glad you came.” 

He twisted his head and kissed her forearm. “Me too.” 

***** 

Jeff was nice enough, and they talked a lot about politics, to the point he saw where Leslie got it from. Ben held his own, thank god, but he wasn’t exactly rolling out verbatim quotes like Leslie and Marlene did to make their arguments. He liked watching her do it though. Jeff gave him a little shrug as if to say “it’s how it goes in this house”, and Ben dropped his hand under the dining room table and squeezed her knee. Her answering sideways smile was his reward. 

They ate ice cream for dessert and he impressed everyone when he helped Marlene start an actual fire. For a good hour they flipped between local and national news circuits and debated more, which was actually exhausting by then. He was relieved when Jeff declared it the end of the political discussions for the evening and found Die Hard on TV (Marlene was quick to point out every single thing that made absolutely no sense in the entire movie). When Marlene and Jeff went to bed he cuddled Leslie in front of the dying embers and listened to her prattle on about how well it was going. 

He woke up in the morning to an empty right side of the bed and found his girlfriend in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone.

***** 

They left football on most of the day, while Jeff cooked a very untraditional Thanksgiving meal of spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread (it smelled amazing, Ben wasn't complaining). Leslie whispered in his ear that she would cook a real Thanksgiving dinner the following year when she was back in Pawnee. He didn’t even have to make a conscious decision to picture himself there again next year. He was there. 

Fuck, he was in _way_ too deep. 

At halftime Ben called his dad and proudly told him he was watching the Vikings game and wasn’t it excellent Green Bay was losing. At the start of the third quarter he called his mom and told her things were fine and he’d be home for Christmas and he wasn’t having turkey without her. He didn’t tell her about Leslie because he just didn't want to have that conversation in the moment. 

Leslie giggled and squealed when they snuck out at midnight and went for a walk in the snow.

She giggled and moaned when they snuck back in the house and had sex for what felt like most of the night. She was wired and when she was wired she couldn't sleep and that meant he couldn’t sleep and so they had sex. It was a good system.

She made campaign speeches in her sleep when she was in Pawnee. She didn’t do that in Bloomington. Ben thought that made sense. 

They went to JJ’s the next morning and it was possible Leslie _may_ have oversold the waffles just a tad, but they were good and JJ himself came out to talk to her and see how school was going and meet him. Everyone seemed to know Leslie and Marlene and when they found out who he was they were just as eager to talk to him. Apparently Leslie had never brought a boyfriend to Pawnee before. 

He thought of the guy with guns and wondered briefly if he was around. Maybe they could save him for Ben’s next visit. 

They went to every single park in city limits that day and it felt like they were the only people in the world (and honestly, for the most part they were). That night they just talked. First to her mom and Jeff over takeout watching Christmas specials and then decorating the tree, and then in her bed with her wearing his t-shirt and contorting her body in different positions to get comfortable. She told him about summers and Christmases and he told her about his family’s lake house and Steph and Henry and the best and worst parts of his parents divorcing and fuck, he wanted to go to Partridge with her. If he had to go back he wanted her to come with him so he could rub it in all their faces that he might be a failed small town mayor but he had the most amazing, brilliant, ray of sunshine girlfriend that even he couldn’t ruin.

They probably wouldn’t even appreciate her awesomeness anyway. His dad wouldn’t care who she could quote on demand or understand what it meant to be that passionate about anything besides fishing and sailing. 

Maybe they’d hold off on Partridge for a while. (Like years, decades, maybe after she was President. You couldn’t be an asshole to the President of the United States - at least not to their face - it was a rule.) 

She told him she loved him again when he was supposed to be sleeping and the sun was poking over the horizon. She said everything with such honesty and conviction it was a little overwhelming to hear “Ben, don’t wake up, but I really, really love you” tumble off her lips. He didn’t move, not reacting or letting her know he had heard. Even though he tempted to roll over and say it back exactly as she had he was pretty sure it wouldn’t come out sounding the same. Nothing ever did. 

She went to some mall in Eagleton (apparently that was allowed) with Marlene later that day, leaving him alone with Jeff. 

“How long have you guys been dating?” 

“Uh…just since Halloween actually.” 

Jeff looked at him curiously. He was tall and lanky with a thick brow that made him seem more serious than he actually was. 

“You guys seem pretty…” 

“Yeah,” Ben tapped his knuckles against the counter, gulping down the ball of nerves that had settled in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah, we do, don’t we?” 

“How do you like Pawnee?” 

“It’s uh…it’s nice. It reminds me of my hometown a little bit, but the people seem…different.” 

“Yeah, you won’t find anyone with more hometown pride than Leslie. I can’t imagine anything ever making her leave Pawnee.” 

“I can.” 

He hadn’t meant to sound so overconfident or abrupt, but he knew it’d come across that way with the look Jeff gave him.  
 “I mean, not…I mean, if she wants to be Governor or President she’ll have to leave Pawnee eventually, right?” 

Jeff laughed and gave a little shrug. “I guess if that were to happen she would, yeah.” 

It didn’t sound like Jeff believed it was even in the realm of possibility that Leslie Knope would be Governor or President or ever do anything beyond City Council or Mayor of Pawnee. For the first time, Ben appreciated why it had been such a big deal he didn’t laugh at her when she told him what office she was gunning for. Whether people made fun of her for it to her face or kind of just laughed it off like it was supposed to be a joke, it was obvious not a lot of people took her that seriously. 

Marlene did. 

Ann Perkins did. 

He did. 

Maybe that was why she “really, really” loved him. 

***** 

“So, Ben,” Marlene took a sip of her red wine and he did the same. He wasn’t much for wine, but he wasn’t going to refute the glass offered to him if her mother wanted to grill him. “You were mayor at eighteen." 

Leslie looked at him anxiously and he swallowed and stammered his answer. 

“That’s ambitious,” she said with a casual laugh. “I heard _all_ about that campaign and how it wasn’t fair that Mayor Gunderson wouldn’t step down so someone else could have a crack at it.” 

“Mom,” Leslie warned. Marlene clucked her tongue. 

“What are your plans when you’re done school?” 

“I hope,” he gulped; the way she was eyeing him made him sweaty. “To get a job in government somewhere. Maybe…maybe Indianapolis. I’d like to stay in Indiana.” 

He’d imagined going federal eventually and heading to DC, but he didn’t see that happening for several years at least. 

Marlene just nodded and changed the subject, leaving him to wonder what exactly she was getting at. Leslie looked unnaturally pale. 

How was this seriously happening after a month of dating. 

*****  

After talk of graduation Leslie was quieter than usual. He felt bad, he was too caught up in the moment to think about anything beyond winter semester, but Ben knew what was making her so quiet. He’d also been subconsciously laying out his future plans with her slotted into them. It was impractical and a little reckless when they both had big plans for themselves as individuals that didn’t exactly align, and it seemed too early to start worrying when they were still supposed to be getting to know each other. But he was doing it and so was she. 

She was more or less silent when they went to bed, kissing him gently and settling on his arm under her quilt. 

“You’re overthinking again.” 

She tilted her head to look at him. 

“You know, you aren't in my plan. To move back to Pawnee, work in Parks, run for office,” she paused. “And I know it’s silly because my mom’s thinking about it and we’ve been dating for four weeks and only known each other for eight but I…I can’t help it.” 

He got it. He totally got it. Neither could he. 

“Okay,” he shifted onto his side and took her hand in his. “We have a whole semester before it becomes an issue, right? And I think we spend these next few months just…just doing that. Getting to know each other, figure out where this,” he gestured between them. “Falls into everything. Because I’m a planner and you’re a planner and it’s not our fault we can’t help but think ten years down the line.” 

She smiled and he rubbed her arm. 

“Until the end of the year we just enjoy being together and pretend we both aren’t crazy enough to plan our lives a decade from now and if, by then, we still want to keep doing this and try and be together then we just…make it work.” 

He kissed her nose.

 “Because I’m not a quitter, are you?” 

“Obviously I’m not, Ben. How do you not know - ”

He kissed her. 

“Right, so, I’m not a quitter and you’re not a quitter and so what if we don’t live in the same place for a while. As if that would be enough to screw this up. We’d make it work. You’ll make an idea binder and I’ll draw us up maps and a budget for gas and we’ll get you a car and we’ll…wherever we are, we’ll figure it out. There’s _nobody_ in the world better equipped to figure this out than us, so suck it, universe.” 

She giggled. 

“I like you.” 

He smiled. “I like you too.” 

“And I love you. I love you and I like you.” 

He pressed his forehead against hers and grinned. 

“I love you and I like you.”


	8. Stupid, Sexy, Brilliant Jerks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're slowly creeping into slightly-angsty territory, in case you haven't noticed. The next chapter is definitely filled with it, because I apparently can't write fluff exclusively for more than a couple of chapters. So bear with me. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and everyone leaving comments. I so, so love getting them :).

“Hah! I got an 88 on my final! Suck it, Wyatt!” she brandished a piece of paper in front of him. He rolled his eyes. 

“You know I did want you to do well, right? I didn’t want this course to kill your GPA - ”

“Well, you wanted to give me a 59 and I finished with an 88 so suck. It.” 

“You’re a goofball. Hey,” he brushed his hands over the arms of her wool coat. It was snowing lightly again and he looked so warm and snuggly and smelled like peppermint. “I have a surprise for you - ”

“Oh my god, I’m pregnant.” 

He stared and Leslie blinked. “Wait, no, that’s…” 

Ben smiled in a dorky cute way and she took his hands in hers before he could remind her she was a goofball again, standing on tiptoe for a kiss. He tugged her beanie over her ears and their noses bumped together. She was kissing him on campus on the steps to the building of his office. It was a nice feeling. 

Having covert, sneaky sex (wearing her sneak around clothes) on top of his desk was also a nice feeling, but just because the course was over it didn’t mean they couldn’t keep doing that. Sex in a fedora was awesome. 

“So,” he kept hold of her hand as they strolled away from the building. “Your mom’s going on that cruise until the 23rd.” 

She tilted her head at him curiously. “Right.” 

“And I want to spend as little time as humanly possible in Partridge, so I’m aiming to get there at 12:01am on Christmas morning and leaving at 11:59pm that night.” 

“Your mom will want to see you at Christmas.” 

“And she will. All of Christmas Day,” he kissed her chin. “So my question is, now that finals are done, what are your plans for the next…” he checked his watch. “Eight days?”

“ARE YOU COMING TO PAWNEE WITH ME?” 

She shoved him hard and he stumbled, latching onto her arm to keep himself from falling into a snowbank. 

“Sorry, sorry,” She grabbed his elbow and pulled him up. 

“Well, not exactly. Part one of the plan was to kidnap you and take you on a secret road trip and then we can spend a night or two in Pawnee before I head to Minnesota.” 

A secret road trip? 

She _loved_ road trips with Ben. They’d already taken one to Indy where they went on a tour of the State House and she took him around to all the historical sites. He’d come out of the shower Friday morning a few weeks after Thanksgiving and kissed her forehead and asked if she wanted to leave for Indy right that minute. 

She went to class first, because of course, but they left right after with barely anything packed and just enough gas to get them there. Historical site tours with Ben were _amazing_ because he already knew a lot and she could really wow him with her expertise. 

He looked pleased with himself now, edging her along towards the parking lot. 

“Okay, we better pack then.” 

“We’re leaving now!? Where are we going? But I have to call Ann -“ 

“Ann knows already. She’ll be home now to help you pack.” 

“Where are we going?” 

“It’s a surprise.” 

“Beeeeeeen,” she squealed when he lifted her off the ground, swinging her around before setting her back on her feet. 

“I’m not telling you. It’s a surprise.” 

“Let’s play twenty questions until I guess it.” 

“No, Leslie,” he draped an arm over her. “For once in your life you’re going to be surprised. You’ll just have to trust me.” 

Ugh, why did authoritative Ben still totally turn her on? Someone telling her no shouldn't work for her. Because he was refusing to even give her a little hint she punished him by sparing an extra three minutes to make out against his car door. She was kind of punishing herself too, but he was adorably flustered and red faced when she pulled away and possibly too aroused to sit down comfortably. 

It was worth it. 

***** 

Washington DC. 

Her amazingly sweet and wonderful boyfriend with a cute face and an even cuter butt surprised her with a trip to Washington DC. 

They’d gotten on the road very quickly after they got back to her apartment, Ann having packed her a bag of clothes and making her promise she’d call when they stopped for the night. And even then, Ben didn’t tell her where they were going. He and Ann just exchanged knowing looks until she snapped at both of them that they were being jerks and tried to look for clues. 

It wasn’t until they were in the car, driving east, that Ben told her their destination and she shouted loudly and started drumming on the dashboard so excitedly that he looked a tad afraid. 

And then she freaked out because she didn’t have any guidebooks or maps or _anything_ to take him on tours and he reached into the back seat and tossed something in her lap. A Washington DC guidebook and a stack of purple post-its. 

“We have ten hours. That should be enough time for you, right?” 

They stopped in a motel when they were through Ohio and she sat up in bed until midnight making additions to her new guidebook. He turned off his light first and started kissing her side a few minutes after that, but she didn’t relent until he reminded her they still had another couple of hours to drive the next day and that was plenty of time to keep working. 

He fell asleep with her naked on top of him, but she was too excited and wondered if you could spontaneously combust from giddiness. 

*****  

The DC hotel cost way too much, but he refused her offers to chip in, insisting it was taken care of and this was her Christmas present so no, he wasn’t letting her help pay for it. She found out later that _her mom_ had been in on it the whole time and helped him cover the costs. That was when Leslie truly appreciated how much Marlene liked and approved of Ben Wyatt. 

They saw _everything_. They’d leave the hotel at sun up and wouldn’t return until after dinner, way too tired to even imagine doing more than cuddling up together in that big, squishy DC hotel bed and watching C-SPAN. He convinced her to sleep in on their third morning with a few strategically placed kisses and his insistence that it was Sunday and they wouldn’t be able to see as much anyway and why didn’t they order waffles from room service. 

On Monday they went on a White House tour and she felt like she was holding her breath the whole time. He kept pointing things out to her and whenever he did she would recite every detail she knew about said painting/piece of furniture/tapestry from studying her guidebook. 

“You can have the East Wing,” she grinned up at him and he grinned back. 

“Can I visit you in the West Wing though?” 

“Of course. We’ll have to consult on foreign policy and education reform and what’s going on in Congress…” 

She trailed off when she realized the rest of the tour group was staring at her and the tour guide looked slightly irritated. Ben kissed her hair to hide his snickers. 

They had dinner in Georgetown and he looked so slick in his sexy suit that she almost started feeling him up on the subway. But then a cop got on and he got sweaty and she just held his hand and promised him she wouldn’t get him arrested for public indecency in the nation’s capital. 

***** 

As amazing as DC had been, Leslie really didn’t feel like it was Christmas until they got back to Pawnee. Her mom’s house was empty and it had snowed quite a bit so for the first hour they shovelled the driveway and then spent the rest of the night on the couch in front of the fire watching It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. 

She called Ann in Michigan and they talked for over an hour between movies, but Ben didn’t seem to mind. He sat on the computer, sipping tea and only coming to find her to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep with the phone pressed to her ear (she’d done that twice in DC). 

It was homey and perfect and they went to JJ’s and kissed under street lamps and had snowball fights. The morning he left for Partridge she pressed his Christmas present into his hands and told him he couldn’t open it early, and then they made out for ten minutes on her front porch until his mom called to see if he’d hit the road yet. 

Leslie wasn’t sure what Christmas would be like for him, but she was sure the present she’d gotten him was awesome (a scrapbook chronicling the entire time they’d known each other and four snow globes that were significant to their relationship). At least he’d have that to make him happy, even if she couldn’t see his face when he opened it. 

*****

On New Year’s Eve they went back to Bloomington and he planted one on her in the middle of Tom’s party at midnight when everyone was wearing hats and blowing noisemakers and sipping sparkling wine. He kept his arm draped around her for most of the night after that, but just smiled when she ran off to dance like crazy with Ann and Donna. 

They stayed at Tom’s until dawn then spent the next day mostly sleeping. It was a good end to their holidays. 

*****

By February they were a unit. People invited them places as LeslieandBen, in a single breath like they were the married couple of their group of friends. She wrote papers on the computer in his office while he did marking and they went on double dates to movies and a group of them rented a cabin for a weekend. The more they spent time together, the less attached Leslie started to feel, which was a good thing. She’d never been one who didn’t appreciate her independence and she liked that they could go their separate ways for a night or a weekend and know they’d end up in the same bed later. At parties she only made him dance with her a little in case he, Mark and Chris wanted to go watch basketball or something (Ben and Mark were actual friends by February, it was weird but it made her happy, even if it bored her to tears when they started talking free throw percentages). They arrived together and they left together and it was just so…simple. Being with Ben felt like it was built to last. 

On a Tuesday in March Chris defended his thesis. Ann went to watch and they spent several hours deciding on an appropriate outfit (sophisticated with a hint of slutty) for the day. Ben was going too, obviously, and he looked so stupidly hot in his black suit and white button down she almost assaulted him when she found him walking across campus towards the building. 

Leslie had class so she didn’t go to the defense, but she did meet up with them at a bar immediately afterwards where all of the TAs and Dr. Anderson himself celebrated Chris passing and talked about how it was almost Ben’s turn. 

She beamed with pride and started thinking about what she would wear to that. She was getting turned on at the prospect of professors and other grad students trying to grill him and he would just…kill it. Of course he would kill it. Because he was brilliant. 

She shuddered and Ben gave her a funny look. _Okay, maybe don’t think about that._

If he ever wanted to run for office she might just go crazy. 

Chris talked about his new job with the State Budget Office that would start in a few weeks. Ann rubbed his arm affectionately and asked questions, but it was clear she was trying to keep the concern off her face. Leslie knew Ann was hoping he’d ask her to move to Indy and find a job at a hospital there. 

He didn’t. 

“Chris broke up with me!” Ann shouted at Leslie when she walked into the bar with Ben a few nights later. Her beautiful tropical fish was flailing angrily and spilling her bright green drink on the floor of the bar. Leslie squawked and looked to Ben who held up his hands to say “I had no idea”. 

“He just…he said I’m a wonderful person and he’ll always care deeply for me and…and…” she hiccuped and Leslie reached out to grip her arms. She didn’t look like she’d been crying, but her face was flushed and she was definitely upset. 

“Okay, okay,” Leslie rubbed her arms. “Do you need me to go break his kneecaps?” 

Ben made a strange noise but Leslie ignored him. 

“No, but come get drunk with me, please,” she stopped flailing and took a breath. Leslie nodded eagerly. If Ann needed her to go get shit-faced because Chris was stupid then Leslie could do that. She needed details. She needed to know everything. 

She swung to face Ben and he was clearly searching the room for Chris. 

“I’ll…” 

He waved her off with warm eyes and a little squeeze of her waist and then Ann carted her away to the darkest corner of the bar. 

The ordered a round of tequila shots and fruity drinks and Ann told her everything. She explained Chris’s new job involved a lot of travel and how he basically said that she was wonderful and he cared for her but they’d reached a point where things couldn’t go any further without some changes. 

Ann knocked back her shot and moaned into her arm. 

“He’s an so dumb, Ann. You could’ve got a job in Indy. As if he’ll do better than you.” 

“He said,” Ann hiccuped. “He said even if I did he wouldn’t be in Indy all that much because of this job.” 

She groaned now, lolling her head to the side. “I didn’t even know he was doing it. He basically had to shake me and tell me he was breaking up with me before I got it.” 

“That’s…that’s ugh. I can’t believe he didn’t even want to try…” 

“Long distance sucks though. It really does. So if he doesn’t want to move in with me or at least live in the same city as me, what’s the point?”

She should’ve been thinking about Ann then because Ann was her best friend and she’d known her for years and a guy was mean to her and breasties before testes, but she caught Ben’s eye across the bar and shit, she just needed him. It was too much, too close to what they were about to be and she just needed him to tell her this wouldn’t happen to them. 

Her brain told her to stop being selfish. 

“Leslie, I’m sorry. I’m being negative; you shouldn’t worry about Ben. You guys are different.” 

Now she felt like an ass. Was she that un-sneaky? Ann supported her all the time and she should be supporting her now instead of worrying about her own problems. When had she become so Ben-crazy she couldn’t take one night off just to let Ann vent? 

So Leslie pushed Ben out of her mind for the next couple of hours, assuring Ann she’d meet lots of guys and she could get a job in Pawnee and they could be roommates there and it would be amazing. When Donna and Shauna joined them ready to “paaaarrty" Leslie slipped away to go to the bathroom, squeezing Ann’s shoulder as she did. 

She was walking back into the main bar when Ben found her, winding his arms around her and pressing his face to her hair. Her eyes got watery of their own volition and she leaned back into him. Dammit, she was Ben-crazy there was no controlling it. 

“I’ll just…stick with Ann tonight,” she murmured. She felt his face in her hair and he nodded. 

“I figured.” 

“It’s…hard.” 

She wasn’t sure if she just meant for Ann or them too, but her best friend’s words about long distance sucking and it only made sense to break up if you didn’t intend to live in the same city kept coming back to her. Drunk Ann was still very wise. 

“Leslie,” he kissed her ear. She twisted to look at him and he inhaled. “Chris said he wasn’t in love with her.” 

“Ann said the same.”

Leslie had asked her if she loved Chris about a hundred times and Ann always kind of shrugged it off, saying she really liked him, they were having fun and she hoped he’d ask her to go to Indy with him. 

“It’s not us, then. You get that, don’t you? They’re not even a little bit like us. This isn’t going to happen to us.” 

“Kay,” she twisted and rested her forehead against his because if she was going to listen to how Chris and Ann broke up because of distance all night she needed a beat here, even if it did mean she was Ben-crazy. He moved his hands to her face and kissed her softly. 

“Text me when you get home, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

She could tell he wanted to linger there, but Ann needed her and there was no way she was abandoning her best friend for a guy. 

Even if it was the sweetest, cutest, kindest most adorable guy she’d ever met. 

***** 

They got so drunk. And they danced, oh boy did they dance. Donna dragged them both out onto the floor and they bounced and grinded and random guys tried to rub up against them. At one point she saw Ben and he lifted an eyebrow, but didn’t move otherwise. Because he was the best boyfriend ever and it was a girl’s night. 

Later, she would vaguely recall his arm around her and his hand on Ann’s elbow as he guided them into a cab and handed the driver some money and their address. He said something to her, but she was too focused on the blurring colours and Ann’s loud laugh to really process what was happening. She just knew Chris sucked and her boyfriend was the best and she may have said that to Ann when they snuggled up together in the back seat of the cab. 

“He’s so nice,” Ann babbled. “He’s the nicest ever. What are you gonna do?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“When he’s done and you’re done and…awww, Les, don’t be sad. I’m sure you’ll make it work.” 

“Ugh,” Leslie flopped against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry Chris was a jerk.” 

“I’m sorry everything with Ben is so complicated.” 

Was it? Even with all that tequila, Leslie wondered if that was true. Why did it have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t she love Ben and run for office and have him do the same? Why couldn’t they find a way? 

The cab pulled up to their apartment and they stumbled out, barely remembering to remove their jeans and bras before they fell into Ann’s bed together under a cashmere throw. She totally forgot to text her amazing boyfriend, but she was pretty sure he’d forgive her. 

The next morning she wanted to die a little. Ann threw up in the bathroom sink because she couldn’t wait for Leslie to finish peeing and then they both slumped on the couch with hoods over their heads. When the door to their apartment opened around 10:30 they had convinced themselves it was an axe-murderer and they were about to die, but it was just Ben. 

Perfect, amazing Ben. 

He made them eggs, insisting it was good for a hangover (Nurse Perkins concurred) and put coffee on. Ann showered after breakfast and Leslie found herself being practically carried to her room. 

“Ben,” she whined. “My head’s all mushy and Chris broke up with Ann because they couldn’t live in the same city and long distance sucks and if that happens to us…” 

“Shhh,” he kissed her forehead. “That won’t happen to us.” 

“How do you know, though?” 

He flopped down beside her and spooned her, mouth sliding over her shoulder. She sighed, and clutched at him and only felt a little bad when Ann came out of the bathroom and waved through the open door, declaring she was going back to bed. 

“Do you…” Leslie started to sit up. Ann shook her head. 

“I’m fine. Get some more sleep. Thanks for the cab last night, Ben.” 

Ben just waved her off with a tired smile. He wasn’t hungover but he seemed beat. She twisted and kissed his jaw. 

“Is Ann okay?” 

“She’ll be fine. She’s tough and beautiful and smart and Chris is stupid if he thinks he’ll meet anyone more perfect than her…” She took a breath. “How is Chris?” 

“Finding the positive,” his eyes focused on hers. “They have other openings. He thinks I should try and apply.” 

“You’d be good at that - going through financial records, finding redundancies.” 

He shrugged the same way he always did when she complimented him. She kissed his chin. 

“What are you gonna do about the apartment?” 

“I can afford a couple months by myself,” he bumped their noses together. “I feel you freaking out still, stop.” 

“Ben - ”

“No, Leslie, stop. Ann and Chris breaking up has nothing to do with us,” he dragged her mouth to his and kissed her hard, hard enough that she forgot her brain was mushy and she had a knot in her stomach the size of her fist and just made her grateful she’d brushed her teeth. She made a soft little noise and he moved his lips to her neck, sucking gently and holding her waist. 

The way he was touching her was borderline desperate, especially when his hand slid beneath her panties and his fingers pushed inside her, twisting and flicking and urging her to crest as she panted into his soft lips. They didn’t even bother to close the door, too caught up in their own little bubble to pull away from each other. 

She whimpered into his kiss when she got there, limbs spasming and his tongue flicking against the tip of hers. She moved her hand to the front of his jeans, but he pulled it away, giving his head a little shake. 

“Not right now,” he kissed her mouth. “Look at me right now.” 

She trembled when she met his gaze and inhaled sharply. 

“You’re amazing at everything you do and that includes this and I will work for this for as long as you want to keep working for it. Okay?” 

She started to cry finally, the emotions that had been building up since the night before finally spilling over. It made him kiss her lower lip and pull the blankets around them. 

“Leslie, trust me.” 

With everything she trusted him. It was an understatement to say she trusted him. He just smiled when she nodded, thumbing her earlobe and pulling her tighter against his chest. 

***** 

He was too sexy for words, sitting up in his bed, pouring over his thesis. His brow was knitted with focus, his eyes narrow and his mouth a firm line. She climbed into bed beside him and pecked his jaw, just below his ear. Leslie could totally see them like this in a few years, him plucking her computer away more times than she’d do it to him, stating their bed was for sex and sleeping and it was time to stop working for the night. 

Their bed. She liked that. 

“You know, I stand by what I said. I’d be happy to read it over for you.” He had to submit his final draft of his thesis the following week and was supposed to be handing it over to Dr. Anderson for review before then. He must’ve read it a dozen times and still didn’t look happy. 

“It’s long, babe, and dry. So dry. I’m putting myself to sleep.” 

_The effect of insider trading on financial analysts’ forecast accuracy._ It didn’t sound dry, it sounded super brilliant and she wanted to make out with his face really hard every time he said it. 

She kissed his jaw again. “But you look tired and bored and I’m not tired and I won’t be bored and maybe you just need some fresh eyes.” 

He rubbed his forehead exhaustively and she squirmed, leaning her cheek against his arm. 

“You definitely need a break.” 

“Did you finish your paper on Abigail Adams?” 

“Uhhhh, _in my sleep_.” 

He laughed, stacking his thesis neatly and kissing her forehead as he stretched over to set it on the nightstand. 

“It’s going to get published and I’ll carry a copy of it everywhere and tell them who you are and then in a few years you’ll be Chairman of the Federal Reserve.” 

He laughed quietly, rubbing her chest. “In a few years, huh? Who’s going to appoint me?” 

She grinned, enjoying how he’d instantly relaxed since he laid his papers down. He snuggled down with her and yawned as she reached back to turn off the light. 

“I will.” 

“Oh yeah?” she could hear the smile in his voice. "You'll be President in a few years?” 

“Maybe a little longer than that.” 

He fell asleep mid-sentence because he was exhausted from writing and edits and more writing and more edits on top of all his usual work _and_ leading a seminar for Mark’s small business class. When Leslie was sure he was out cold she squirmed away and went to the living room with his stack of papers wearing nothing but his t-shirt. 

Ben snapped at her when he found her there at 7am, hair messy and eyes unfocused. She’d gotten so caught up in it, fixing typos, moving paragraphs. It was _so_ good and he was so smart, and she was fixing things he’d never see himself to make it perfect so she could cart around the journal issue it was published in and tell the world how incredible Ben Wyatt was. 

“Leslie, did you sleep at all?” This was in-between annoyed Ben. More annoyed than amused, but with the knowledge he couldn’t actually be mad at her because what she did was well-meaning. One step one way from more amused than annoyed and one step another way from not at all amused. 

“I…got caught up,” she informed him with an easy shrug, setting the papers on the coffee table and reaching for his arms. 

“It’s really good.” 

 “It’s not. It’s…ugh, I hate it. I want to burn it and forget it existed.” 

She kissed his chest and his arms snaked around her. 

“You thought it wasn’t horrible?” 

“I made some tweaks,” she erupted with enthusiasm. “Just to help with the flow and stuff, but Ben, it’s really really good. I mean that. It’s well thought out and it’s not redundant and it’s complex and it’s…” 

He thumbed her neck and she started to feel tired finally, leaning into him and sighing. 

“Ann didn’t stay up all night editing Chris’s thesis.” 

She knew what he was doing and she, if possible, loved him even more for it. 

“Ann Perkins needs her beauty sleep which is why she’s so stunningly beautiful and why she’ll never have bags under her eyes even when she’s working night shifts.” 

He kissed her eyelids and whispered she was plenty beautiful. Crap, now she just wanted to melt into him and sleep but she had class and he had lots to do. 

“You’re the best,” he murmured, sliding his thumb from the top to the bottom of her spine. He always did this when she needed to sleep. How had he figured her out so fast? Jerk. Stupid, sexy, brilliant jerk. 

“Come on, go to bed, you can miss one class. You’re already graduating with honours.” 

She babbled into his shirt and he grinned into her hair. 

“I have no doubt you will have plenty more opportunities to share your feelings on Susan B. Anthony with the world,” he shuffled backwards, stopping to deposit her on his bed and tuck her in with a forehead kiss. 

“It’s really good, Ben,” she rumbled her insistence sleepily. 

Now he just sounded amused. 

“Thanks, babe.”


	9. Four Years in Fragments, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben & Leslie's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is nigh! 
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to leave comments thus far. It honestly makes my day and I so appreciate you doing it. 
> 
> This chapter is full of angst. Growing up happens, and it's possible you won't like me afterwards. I make no apologies because I couldn't write fluff exclusively to save my life. Bear with me ;) 
> 
> Sorry for typos. I hope you enjoy!

**Day 1**

“I mean, it’s your future home,” he grinned as she stared at the outside of the Governor’s mansion. 

“Our future home.” Her big blue eyes were filled with moisture. They’d come to Indy for the weekend to help him find an apartment for when his state job started and he felt like he hadn’t let go of her hand the entire time. 

Indy and Pawnee. They knew it was coming. They’d lain on a blanket in Harvey James Park gazing at the stars knowing it was coming. 

“Of course.” 

“You’ll be my sexy older lover and you’ll wear dark sunglasses and hover mysteriously in the background at all my press conferences and I’ll tell people you’re a delinquent with a heart of gold.”

“Or,” he began reasonably. “I could just be your husband.” 

It came out without him meaning to and he heard a sharp intake of breath. 

“Just a thought,” he kissed her cheek. “Wanna head back?” 

“Did you just ask me to marry you?” 

He laughed nervously and realized that was kind of exactly what he just did. She was looking at him intensely and he didn’t answer, kissing her gently and suggesting they get a cab. 

More than that, he was just really asking if she could not break up with him because he didn’t think he’d be able to take it. 

“Ben!” She swatted. “You just said…”

“Not like that,” he cleared his throat, starting to sweat now. “I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t do it like that. It was more like a one day in the future type…thought.” 

He took a breath. 

“Come on, let’s go back.” 

“One day though,” she leaned into his arm as they strolled away. He smiled into her hair. 

“Definitely.” 

******  
**Day 42**

He was about an hour northwest of Bloomington for the next eight to twelve weeks and not seeing him every day was making her crazy. 

For starters, she was crazy horny and dying to jump his bones. 

But also, as fun as falling asleep on the phone together was, she much preferred the kisses and cuddles that came with doing it in person. 

Also, his butt. She missed seeing his butt. She made him take pictures and send them to her (which he totally thought was weird, and stated that clearly) and she made a slideshow. He asked what part of her he got to objectify and she left it up to him. He still hadn’t narrowed it down yet, apparently. 

Ugh, she missed him. She missed his face and his hands and tongue - oh god, she really missed his tongue. 

“Where are you?” he asked, his voice rolling over her and making her shudder. 

“At home. In my room.” 

He smacked his lips and her pulse started to race. 

“I miss you.” 

“I miss you too. What are you wearing?” 

He chuckled and it made her cackle. 

“Alright, are we doing this?” 

“Take your pants off, Wyatt.” 

He sighed and she grinned, shifting the phone so she could use her hands to shimmy her underwear down. He groaned when she told him as much and they were both done really, really quickly and she was hoping her mom hadn’t heard her. 

It wasn’t the same, but it was fun. 

*****  
**Day 93**

“Hey Ron,” he called as they passed each other on the steps of City Hall. Ron stared at him blankly and Ben rolled his eyes. 

“It’s…Ben, Ron. We’ve met like five times.” 

“I don’t recall this,” Ron stated. “At any rate, I am going home as I have completed my work day and will not be spending any longer at this place than is necessary.”

 “Is Leslie - ”

“Inside,” Ben couldn’t be sure but he swore the other man’s face softened just a little. Ben nodded curtly, jogging up the steps and making his way through the first floor to the Parks department. 

She was there, surrounded by a mountain of papers, hunched over her desk and biting her lip. Her hair was slightly longer and his legs couldn’t carry him fast enough to her door. 

It was open and she didn’t look up for several seconds so he just stood there, hands in his pockets and head resting against the frame while she did whatever so needed to be done after 5pm on a Friday. 

“What are you doing here!?” her exclamation jolted him from his reverie and he grinned widely, stepping inside and reaching to pull her into a hug. 

“I thought I was coming to you next weekend!” 

He shrugged, gathering her face in his hands and kissing her slowly. She responded eagerly, her palm landing on his butt until he made a little noise and slapped at her wrist playfully. 

“I guess I just couldn’t wait that long.” 

“Can you just give me like…ten minutes to finish these forms and we'll go have dinner and…” 

Ben laughed and nodded, settling in a chair and watching as she worked furiously. 

*****  
**Day 369**

“It’s nicer than your last one,” she slid her coat off her shoulders and surveyed Ben’s new bachelor pad in Indy. “Smaller, but nicer.” 

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I don’t need much space for as long as I’m here so it saves on rent.” 

He reached into the fridge and wiggled a beer in front of her. “You want one?” 

Ben looked tired. Adorable, sporting a five o clock shadow (which she liked just fine) with heavy bags under his eyes. He’d just gotten back from the last town he’d visited (she’d forgotten the name again) and he’d driven all night and been in meetings all day and unlike her, four hours of sleep nightly was doing him in. His apartment was still in boxes, the movers having transferred everything while he was away. 

“Why don't we just stay in for dinner tonight? We can go out tomorrow.” 

“I got us that reservation at the place Chris recommended. I thought you’d like it. Their pastry chef’s supposed to be…” 

He trailed off when she crossed the kitchen, dragging her fingers along the granite countertop and peeling his beer away gently and stepping into his arms. 

“It’s okay if you’re too tired tonight. I don’t mind.” 

“What gave it away?” 

“Well,” she rubbed his arms. “For starters you haven’t even kissed me yet.” 

“Sorry,” he dropped his forehead to her hair and tilted her chin up. No matter how tired he was Ben’s kisses never failed to make warmth coil throughout her. He smelled faintly of aftershave and she wanted to sink under his skin and stay there. 

“The beds in that motel were really shitty.” 

She hadn’t visited him there, but remembered him sighing like he’d died and gone to heaven when they crawled into her bed one night in Pawnee a month before. 

“Why don’t you,” she rubbed his arms. “Take a shower and I’ll go get some food and you can pick the movie and we’ll go to bed early.” 

He wrapped her up tightly, holding her snugly and kissing her temple. 

“I missed you.” 

“Me too,” she patted his chest lightly. “Go shower. I’ll be back in a bit.” 

Leslie grinned over her shoulder when he called she was the best on the way out the door. 

*****  
**Day 414**

It looked like he’d be paired up with Chris again for the next town because apparently when he wasn’t he got _death threats_. Someone from education had literally threatened to beat him to death with outdated calculus textbooks and the police department had said they should probably escort him back to his hotel room except, oh, they couldn’t, because they didn’t have the budget for it. 

Yeah, they hated him. He had half a mind to wander around until he found a bar outside of city limits and just get wasted, because what else would state auditors do on a Friday night in a place where they were universally despised? 

And then he saw her car parked outside his hotel. The little grey sedan he’d helped her research and pick out and insisted she get AAA for because no, Mark having a pickup truck and knowing how to change a flat herself didn’t count as 24 hour roadside assistance. 

“Hi honey,” she slid out of the driver’s seat wearing a cute little navy blue rain jacket. She pulled up the hood to keep the drizzle off her face and flashed him that big, tractor beam smile as he made his way over to her. 

“How was your day?” 

“Someone threatened to crush my skull with a calculus textbook because I wouldn’t give the education department more money,” his arms slid around her like a reflex (which it was) and she rested her chin against his chest, looking up at him. He toyed with the strings of her hood. 

“People are jerks.”  

“I think they think I’m the jerk.” 

Ben dipped his head and kissed her softly. “I thought you were gonna wait until Snerling.” 

It was a much shorter drive for her - a mere forty minutes compared to the three hours in traffic she’d probably spent coming north.  
 “I didn’t want to wait that long,” she stood on tiptoe and kissed him again, more slowly. “Hi.” 

He held her close, enjoying the contrast of her warm body and kiss against the cool rain. 

“How was your public forum? You never called after.” 

“They spent seven hours arguing over whether I was allowed to put a bench in Ramsett Park. One guy threw his shoe at me and called me a harlot, and Ron yelled at everyone.” 

“Oh god,” he groaned, sliding his hands against her shoulders. “Why are we in government work again?” 

She smiled softly, fingers sliding across his jaw as their lips parted with more pressure and tongue. He yanked her against him. How long had it been this time? Five weeks? Six? She laughed softly at his response, finding his hand and tugging him towards the door. 

Too long. Way too long. 

*****  
**Day 517**

“Stop stressing,” he squeezed her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “You’ll be great.” 

“It’s my first public forum I’m running alone, Ben. It’s a big deal. It could define my whole career - ”

“Babe,” he spun her in her chair and gripped her shoulders, leaning down so they were face to face. “It won’t. I promise you it won’t. It’ll go how it’ll go and you’ll be great and the weirdos will still be weird and ask ridiculous questions, but it won’t define your career. It’s just about a bike rack.” 

She sighed, glancing longingly at her binder dedicated to public forums and every possible question she might be asked, no matter how obscure. She usually did most (okay, all) of the work, but Ron was there when things got out of hand. She was going in totally alone now and it was important. Maybe not career defining, but important. 

“It’s also not until next Thursday and it was a long drive and I _really_ want to go home. Can we go home?” 

Leslie studied him, his tie loosened and several buttons of grey checkered his shirt undone. She smiled imagining him trying to unwind during the drive from Indy after the hectic week he’d had. And yet he’d still spent the last hour meandering around her office and examining her newest snow globe, waiting patiently for her to be ready. 

“Okay, let’s go home.” 

“Great,” he closed her binder for her, grabbing her hand and her coat and dragging her out the door. 

*****  
**Day 731**

“Babe, honestly, I’m too tired to talk about this tonight. Sorry.” 

He wished he sounded more sorry. He wished he _was_ more sorry, but he just wanted to finish his work, go home and head to bed. 

“Ben, Ann’s dating this guy who’s in a band and you have to come here and meet him because she wants to go on a double date and - ”

“Leslie, I can’t just drop this stuff and drive four hours in two days because you feel like going to a concert with Ann and whatshisface.” 

“Andy.” 

“Huh?” 

 “That's his name. Andy. I told you that last week. He loves the Colts. He’s kind of like a puppy, but he's sweet enough and she’s happy, I think." 

Ben dropped his forehead to his desk with a thud. It was 8pm on a Wednesday and he was still doing spreadsheets. Chris had a date with some girl he met running in a park two mornings before and he was just…lonely. Miserable. The only thing keeping him going was the positive feedback he was getting from his superiors back in Indy. They were really impressed with his no-nonsense attitude and how he just found a way to get things done. Prioritizing what was essential, program cuts, job cuts; if it needed to happen he made it happen. 

Leslie hated it, even if she didn't say so. She wanted to create experiences and bring joy to people while he just hacked away at their numbers. He knew she didn’t understand how he could be happy doing what he was doing. 

He wasn’t happy, exactly, but he was really good at it. 

“You’re busy,” she cleared her throat. “I’ll let you get back to work.” 

“Sorry - ”

“It’s okay,” he could hear it in her voice, her starting to get upset. Ben rubbed his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Leslie - ”

“I should go too, actually. Ann wants to hang out; she just finished a week of nights so we’re celebrating.” 

“Have…” he swallowed hard. "Have fun. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?” 

“Okay,” she practically whispered it. “Night.” 

“I love you.” It seemed to be the only truly honest part of the conversation they were having, but it was the right part to keep honest. 

“I love you too, Ben.” 

*****  
**Day 822**

“Ben’s doing amazing working for the state,” Leslie beamed with pride, rubbing his forearm resting on the table. He looked like he was in pain. 

“His bosses are so impressed they gave him a raise and everything and in a few years he can try running for offi…” she trailed off, watching Steven Wyatt’s bored facial expression change into an incredulous one. Ben flinched. Crap on a spatula, she shouldn’t have said that. 

“You’re gonna try and run for office again, Benny? Are you nuts? Did you forget what happened - ?”

“How could I forget, no one ever lets me,” he snapped sarcastically. 

“Well, I’m not sure running for office will do anything to help your career. It’d be a pretty stupid move.” Across the table Henry made a face and pushed his apple pie around on his plate. Steph shrunk into her cowl neck sweater. Leslie felt emboldened now. 

“Of course it would! It’s what Ben wants and he’s smart and he’d be so good at it, you don’t even realize…” 

Steven lifted an eyebrow. 

“Young people are stupid and do stupid things sometimes, Leslie, but there are still consequences. Stop getting his hopes up.” 

She started to answer, but Ben’s foot pressed against hers under the table. The conversation was over.

“I’m sorry about dinner,” she sighed later, when they were in his room and everyone else was asleep. He looked weary and dejected and she wasn’t entirely convinced that wasn’t her fault.

“I told you not to bring it up.” Yup, he was mad. 

“I know. It just slipped out, I couldn’t help it. I really am sorry.” 

He slumped onto the mattress. Ugh, his family could really be jerks sometimes. 

“It’s not worth mentioning. Ever again. For the rest of their lives at least. So maybe just, don’t, okay?”

She reached out and his lips curved upwards, drawing her between his legs. She sat on his knee, his chin on her shoulder. 

“I just…” she toyed with his hair. It was shorter than she liked, but it suited him still. “I don’t understand how they can be so indifferent about it. If you want something then you find a way to make it work, right? The world doesn't revolve around what happened in Partridge a decade ago.” 

“In Partridge it does. I can’t even go to the grocery store without someone asking about it. And by someone, I mean everyone.” 

“Well…fuck them! You’re the best thing to come out of this stupid town and they know it!” 

He kissed her shoulder, but it seemed lacklustre. Leslie hoped he believed her. 

*****  
**Day 956**

“Mhm,HappyBirthday,” she giggled as he backed her up into her new house that was seriously in need of unpacking and organization and decluttering. But not tonight; tonight he wasn’t planning on doing anything much beyond the borders of her bed. It was his birthday, after all. 

“Wait,wait,myshoe,” her pump fell off as they stumbled over her porch steps and he stepped on a birdhouse. She winced, but he grinned, rubbing her sides beneath her coat. They were a little tipsy from the wine at dinner but he mostly felt drunk on her. Just being around her again, with her aura of positivity and lips that tasted like sugar, was intoxicating. She was fresh air and sunlight when his life was living underground in a bunker. 

She giggled again as he kissed through her clothes, sliding down to the porch and rescuing her shoe. He handed it to her, lifting her up one armed and pushing her front door open. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. "I miss you so much.” 

Leslie’s breath caught in her throat and she reached out to hold his face. They tried not to say stuff like that too often because there wasn’t anything they could do about it at the present and it hurt to hear the break in her voice. 

Now, she smiled back tightly and palmed his cheeks. “I’m right here, babe. You can’t miss me when I’m right here.” 

Except he was already thinking about having to leave in two days. 

He managed a smile back for her and kissed her slowly, the tone changing from hasty and fumbling to practiced and soul satiating. Everything seemed to ache with need and her fingers carefully pushing his buttons through their holes was the best birthday present he'd ever gotten. 

She made him a scrapbook of his life too (she’d called his mom for pictures) that they went over in detail in bed later that night. And she handed him Pacers tickets the next morning for him to use with Chris. 

Screw Chris, he was totally taking her. 

*****   
**Day 1000**

The strikingly beautiful, statuesque brunette made every head in the corridor turn. And she was touching her boyfriend’s arm. 

_Stroking_. She was _stroking_ her boyfriend’s arm at eleven-thirty in the morning. Where were they? Amsterdam? Leslie felt the steam building behind her ears and it was about to erupt as Chris arrived and exclaimed her name. 

“How are you!?” he enveloped her in a hug. “You look _wonderful_. How’s Ann Perkins?” 

“Great,” she managed to sound cheery. “She’s great. Beautiful. Perfect. The best nurse in the world.” 

She did look wonderful. She was wearing the sexy black dress Ann had helped her pick out and the biggest high heels she owned. Her hair was soft and bouncy and she’d applied the bright red lipstick Ben liked. Her boyfriend was supposed to melt when he saw her there surprising him with a long weekend. 

But instead he was talking to a tall brunette with amazing legs that was stroking his arm. 

“Ben didn’t say you were coming!” 

“He doesn’t know. I heard you had meetings until today and I thought I’d leave early and…” 

“Isn’t that _thoughtful_.” Chris beamed. “He’s just over there talking to one of our colleagues. Sophia. She’s amazing. An excellent auditor, so smart and…” 

She zoned out. 

“Leslie?” Chris touched her arm. “Do you want me to tell him you’re here?” 

“No,” she smiled tightly. “That’s okay.”

Stupid Sophia towered over Leslie and her face felt hot as she closed the distance between them. Ben’s eyes locked on her, confused, and then widened in disbelief. He didn’t jolt or pull away too quickly from Sophia, which made Leslie feel better. Not that she thought he would cheat on her. 

She just didn’t like tall brunettes flirting with her boyfriend. She trusted _him_. 

“Leslie what,” he excused himself quickly and Leslie watched as the brunette turned to stare. “What are you doing here?” 

And then his face broke out in a huge grin and his arms opened and he wrapped her up in a hug so tight that she felt silly, so silly, for even caring that Sophia The Amazing existed. 

“I, I cut out early and thought we’d…take a long weekend. Are you busy? You said today was quieter, but I can wait if you’re - ”

He kissed her lightly and brushed his hands over the black dress, murmuring she looked incredible. She smiled. 

“If Leslie Knope can take a day off I definitely am ready to go. Come to my office and I’ll get my stuff,” he latched onto her hand and tugged her along the corridor with a stupid grin on his face. She may have flashed Sophia The Amazing a winning smile. 

Because, suck it.

His arms snaked around her as soon as they were behind the closed door of his office, and he kissed her so hard her knees buckled. 

“You give the best surprises.” 

“I know.” 

*****  
**Day 1074**

“So, this cop asked me out today,” he could tell she was in her kitchen, phone cradled between her ear and shoulder, making pancakes for dinner probably. 

“Ann said to tell you.” 

“You weren’t gonna tell me?” It wasn’t meant to be accusatory, he was just surprised. 

Of course it was a cop that asked her out. Of course it was. That was his luck. The cop would probably fall in love with her and he’d have a gun and then he’d be in love with her with a gun, and Ben would drive under the speed limit for the rest of his life for fear that Leslie Knope’s new boyfriend would be the guy who pulled him over and then would be too nice to give him a ticket because he pitied him. And all because Ben was too ambitious to just be happy in Pawnee with her. 

“No, I just…I didn’t know if it was a big thing to bring up or something to mention in passing. That’s all.” 

It had been almost three years since they’d moved to different cities and almost four since they started dating and no part of him didn’t trust her. No part of him thought for even one minute there was the slightest possibility she would be anything but loyal to him. 

“It was just strange. He asked around and nobody knew I was dating anybody." 

Ouch. That was a knife to the chest. 

“And I talk about you all the time, there are pictures of us in my office and I don’t…how could they not know we’re dating? How is there anybody in Pawnee that doesn’t know that?” 

He didn’t know, but he was pretty sure it was his fault. He was pretty sure it had to do with the fact that he kept her to himself whenever he visited because the thought of having to share her with the world during one of their precious weekends was too much.

“Hey, you know what was I thinking?” 

“What?” 

“Let’s take a week and just…go somewhere. A whole week and we’ll be tourists and you can bring fifteen guidebooks and we’ll…you can get some vacation time right?” 

She hated taking vacation time but he hoped she would for this. He felt like they needed this. 

“That sounds great.” 

He was already looking up flights to Hawaii on his laptop. 

“He didn’t even know who Madeline Albright was,” she blurted out suddenly. 

“The cop?” 

“Dave. Yeah.” 

“Uhhhh only the first female Secretary of State, multilingual UN ambassador and at the top of Leslie’s list of amazing women. Come on Dave, get with it.” 

She giggled and he felt better. 

*****  
**Day 1186**

“That was…” 

“Insane?” he offered. His cheek was on her belly, his sheets and pillows in a heap on the floor with their clothes. He barely had the energy to lift his head and kiss her navel. 

“Insane in the best possible way?” 

“Amazing. I think I blacked out?” 

“Oh good,” he grinned and slid up her body. “I was afraid it was just me.” 

She giggled when he rested against her breast and thumbed her other nipple. “We could teach a class at the community centre.” 

“On how to be awesome at sex?” He held up a hand and she slapped him five with a cackle. 

“Yup.” 

“I’m never moving again.” 

“I don’t think I can walk.” 

“How long has it been since…” 

He craned his neck to see the alarm clock and looked pensive for a second. “I think half an hour. My brain’s dead.” 

“Are you almost - ?”

“Oh yeah, totally. Are you sure you’re not too…sore?” 

Her cheeks tinged pink as she thought back to their acrobatics. It was one of those totally carried away _I just need you to fuck me and I don’t care how you do it_ , situations. Not that it ever embarrassed her, it was just more of an out of body experience than usual. 

“It’s a good kind of sore. Like Chris says exercise gives you.” 

He rubbed her hip and slid over her, kissing her neck. “Slower this time.” 

“Yes, please.” 

*****  
**Day 1221**

“Hey man,” Ben heard a familiar voice in his ear when he scooped up his phone. 

“Hey Brendanawicz. What’s up?” 

“She uh…” Mark took a breath, but Ben knew what was coming now. It was the fifth time this had happened since she moved back to Pawnee. 

“Honestly, she kind of just needs you. I tried, but I think this is a boyfriend who actually gives a shit about local government situation.” 

Ben exhaled. “Horrendously bad public forum?” 

“Worse. Made a new park proposal in front of City Council and they obliterated her and then everyone voted against her with the village idiots chanting Say Nope to Knope!…Over a fucking park. Who’s that against a park?!” He took a breath. “Anyway yeah, I think it just wore her down. Finally.” 

Ben sighed. “Okay. Thanks.” 

“She’s trying to put on a brave face about it, so she might not tell you, but uh…I think she could use some reassurance or something.” 

He called Chris and left a message, saying he had to take a personal day. 

Ben sat himself at her desk when he arrived and waited. He watched her walk into the Parks department with her head down and her eyes vacant and his heart broke in that moment. 

She cried when she saw him, which made him fight back tears because he’d never seen her like that. She just…crumbled. Because for once it was too much for even her to handle. 

Mark was right, who the fuck was that against _a park_. 

He hated those people so much, for taking someone who worked tirelessly for a stupid town that never would appreciate her enough and shutting her down. And they _knew her_ , that was what got him. She wasn’t a talking head or a faceless name on a City Hall door, she was everywhere in the community, _trying_. 

“Hey, hey,” he stood up, closing the distance between them and winding his arms around her. He saw Ron watching them from his office window, but he left Ben to it as she just _sobbed_. 

“How did you…?” she managed to get out through sniffles after a few minutes. He kissed her forehead. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“Mark…?” 

“I can't reveal my sources,” he ran his fingers through her hair. “Can I buy you a drink and ask you about it?” 

She nodded, smiling for him - because there was definitely nothing else to smile for in that moment - and wiping her eyes. His fingers joined hers. 

“Hi.” 

“Hey there, babydoll.” 

“How did you get off work to…?” 

“Don’t worry about it. I have personal days,” he kissed her gently and tucked her hair behind her ear. 

“Let’s go?” 

“Are you gonna get me drunk and take advantage of me?” 

“Do you want me to?” He wiggled his eyebrows. She giggled and he pulled her closer as they strolled out of the office. 

“Yes.” 

He grinned. 

*****  
**Day 1298**

“I’m sorry, okay? I can’t drive to Pawnee in three feet of snow, Leslie.” 

“I’m not asking you to, I just - ”

“I know it’s been a while, but I’m busy and it takes too long to get there and it’s not worth white knuckling it the whole way just to leave in the morning.” 

She hadn’t seen him since he surprised her the day of her horrible encounter with City Council. And the truth was she flitted between missing him like crazy and trying to not to think about him at all. It had only now just occurred to her how long it had been and how quickly the days had added up. 

“It’s fine. Forget I…You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

He sighed and she knew he was trying to keep the irritation from his tone. 

“We’ll plan something in a few weeks, okay? When I’m back in Indy. We’ve just both been insanely busy.” 

“I know. You’re right,” she heard his sharp intake of breath and knew he could tell she was fighting back tears. 

“Leslie.” 

“I have to go, actually. Ann and I are going to watch Project Runway and I’m going to do the Tim Gunn voice, you know the _Designer’s, make it work_ \- and I have to go, okay? So, I’ll…I’ll call you later.” 

“Les - ”

“Sorry, she’s here, that’s the doorbell. My doorbell’s really quiet, remember? I should fix it; I never hear it when I order pizza. Okay, so I’m going now to hang out with Ann. I’m not upset. Ann’s really here. Talk to you later!” 

She hung up before he could point out how full of crap she was. 

*****  
**Day 1341**

They broke up. 

Well, they were taking a “break”, which as he understood it, meant they were basically broken up with the promise of reevaluating their situation in six months time and thirty minute phone calls once a month to check in. She called it Operation Making It Work For Real. As in, trying to find a way to have a relationship that wasn’t the summation of a bunch of stolen weekends and late night phone calls. 

He called it Operation Rip Ben’s Heart Out Through His Throat with the subtitle: Let’s Figure Out If We Can Be Happy Without Each Other. 

For the scrapbook, of course. 

It had started with a fight, a big fight, their biggest ever by a mile about how little they were seeing or even talking to each other lately and how long were they going to keep doing the long distance thing for. Ben had declared he’d take a job strictly in Indy if she’d think about leaving Pawnee and she yelled did he even know her at all, she wanted to run for office _in_ Pawnee and he’d… 

He’d told her she was better than Pawnee and she couldn’t be Governor or President or anything of the sort and stay in Pawnee for the rest of her life, so maybe it was time to branch out. 

And then she said everything was too much and they should take a break from trying to work so hard to be together. It was Ann’s advice she’d been sitting on since she arrived in Indy a few hours before. It made him hate Ann a little in that moment. 

He almost said something about never imagining he’d live to see Leslie Knope admit defeat, but she always flinched when he said her name as if the situation would change simply by virtue of Leslie being Leslie. 

It would. It did, but sometimes it was too much pressure even for her. 

It was very dark and very snowy by the time they’d finished discussing the terms of their “break” and he refused to let her leave, latching onto her and saying she wasn’t driving back to Pawnee in a blizzard. She started to suggest she get a hotel, but he thumbed her wrist and gave her a look and felt her concede before she even finished the sentence. They cuddled in his bed without talking and neither of them sleeping, his hand on her neck twining pieces of hair around his fingers. She didn’t cry, but her voice was thick with emotion and she trembled against him a little harder with each passing hour. When they kissed goodbye in the morning it wasn’t nearly enough and he wanted to cling to her and breathe deeply and give her whatever she needed to make this not happen.

Pawnee, his future aspirations, the moon: whatever she wanted in that moment she could have. 

But big life decisions made out of desperation rarely turned out the way they were supposed to and even as an emotional wreck Ben knew well enough to keep his mouth shut. If Ben Wyatt wasn’t pragmatic he was nothing. 

He started crying as soon as she left and texted her quickly to just ask her to please let him know she made it home. 

Ann texted on her behalf and already she felt too far away.


	10. Four Years in Fragments, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie & Ben's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just...don't even know anymore. Send help. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone leaving comments again. They make my day, so if you've read and enjoyed please let me know!

**Day 1368**

Ben sat on his motel bed just outside Gary, Indiana, staring intently at his cell phone and waiting for the screen to light up. She was calling in three minutes for the first time since she left his apartment that morning. His new assignment had started a few weeks after and Chris had tried to coax him into going out for a beer to celebrate their visit to this “incredible new community”. 

Ben basically wanted the ground to open up and swallow him so no, he wasn’t into going out for a beer. 

Plus, Leslie was calling tonight. After her meeting with animal control was done. He couldn’t believe it had been four weeks since he last spoke to her. He couldn’t remember having gone more than four days without speaking to her in the entire time he’d known her. 

He may have spent an inordinate amount of time consumed with a box of purple post-it notes that had littered books she’d given him in college. Because he was a masochist like that. 

Leslie lit up the screen and Ben couldn’t move to answer it fast enough. 

“Hey. Hi. Hey!” Okay, no way he sounded normal. She couldn’t be expecting him to sound normal, right? 

“Hey,” was she biting her lip? It sounded like she was biting her lip. “Are you still okay to talk right now?” 

“Yes, yes, of course,” he was hoarse to his own ears. “Are…are you?” 

“Mhm hmm.” He squeezed his eyes shut and and tried to picture it. Was she still in her office with her blazer draped over the back of her chair or was she at home in her Lil’ Sebastian t-shirt curled under a blanket on her couch? With hot chocolate. 

She hissed suddenly and he jumped. “What’s…what’s wrong?” 

“I just spilled my hot chocolate. Hang on.” 

Home. She was home in PJs. Her voice came back on the line a few seconds later. 

“Sorry, I’m here now.” 

“Did you burn yourself?” As if her hot chocolate was anything hotter than room temperature with the amount of whipped cream she put in it. 

“No, it just spilled on the table. We can talk now, let me just set the timer.” 

“You’re setting a timer?” 

“I have to! It’s too easy to get carried away!” 

“You’re setting a timer.” 

“We agreed thirty minutes and so I’m setting a timer.” 

He banged his head against his coffee table. 

“You remember the rules? Did you get that laminated copy I sent - ”

“Yes. I got it.” 

“Okay great,” she gulped audibly and he imagined her licking whipped cream off her finger and bit back a groan. This was a waking nightmare. 

“How have you been?” 

“I’m okay. I’m in that town just outside of Gary. It’s cold. Really cold.” 

“Southern Indiana is the best part of Indiana, obviously.” 

“Obviously. How was your meeting with animal control?”  

“We have a possum problem. Fairway Frank. He’s terrorizing golfers. One day I’ll catch him and donate him to the zoo.” 

Of course she would. Of course she would catch a possum and donate it to a zoo. 

“Did you see Meet the Press?” 

And just like that they were off. Like nothing had changed, save for the shaky timber of her voice when the clock started to tick down and the realization that when her egg timer went off it was over. They wouldn’t do this again for four weeks. 

He winced when he heard the buzzing. She’d been mid-sentence and almost laughing when they were interrupted and they both seemed to inhale collectively. 

“Oh,” she swallowed. “I guess I…we have to…” 

He pounded his fist into a pillow out of frustration. 

“Leslie…” 

“Don’t. That’s the rule. We don’t get to talk about that.” 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Same…” he dropped his head into his hands. “Same time next month?” 

It was painful. So painful. All he wanted to do was hold onto her voice. 

“Right. Of course.” 

“Okay,” she paused. “I love you.” 

Despite himself he smiled. “I love you too.” 

*****  
**Day 1385**

“Leslie, if this is a trial break up or whatever shouldn’t you be trying to meet other people to see if, you know, you’d be open to dating someone else? You can't just sit at home every night and miss Ben.” 

“I’m not sitting home every night and missing Ben. I’m working. And it’s not for meeting other people, it’s for figuring out how we can both get what we want. And we’re not actually broken up.”

It was also for not eating and barely sleeping. JJ had personally called her house to see why she hadn’t been in over a month. Jerry had found her passed out on her desk in the same clothes from the day before three times since Indy. Ron had sent her home at lunch twice to get some sleep because she was babbling incoherently. 

Not that she did sleep, she just worked from home, but she appreciated his concern even if he would deny that was what he did it out of. 

“You can’t, Leslie. That’s the problem. Relationships mean sacrifices for the sake of being together and if you guys want to make this work you won’t both get exactly what you want all the time. And if the sacrifices you’d have to make to be with Ben are too much then maybe Ben’s not the person you’re supposed to be with.” 

She sniffled, feeling like she’d never cried this much in her life. She’d cried often when her dad died, but with her mother beside her and their hands clasped tightly it felt more quiet and dignified. 

“That’s it,” Ann declared. “We’re going to the Snakehole. Put on your sexiest top.” 

“I don’t have anything sexy.” 

She could tell Ann was rubbing her forehead and biting her tongue.

“You know, I'm sure if you asked Dave out he’d still be interested in - ”

“I’m not dating a month after I broke up with Ben, Ann! Dave’s a nice person and I don’t want him to be a…whatever. Rebound.” 

“Okay, 1) I thought you weren’t broken up? and 2) So wait, you’d date Dave if you and Ben were over and you were moving on? Because that feels significant, Les.” 

“No! I can’t even think about that! Stop…you devious…FINE. I’ll go to the stupid Snakehole but nothing I own is sexy.” 

Translation: half of anything she thought was kind of sexy was because Ben had told her it was and wearing that to go out to try and get over him seemed wrong. Plus, she was pretty sure his Letters to Cleo shirt only counted as sexy when she was wearing it in bed without pants. 

Dammit. She wondered if he’d figured out that was still in her possession. Should she send it back? It felt too final. Plus, she liked sleeping in it. Once…twice a week max. And sometimes when she was watching sad movies or just generally really missing him. 

Fine, she wore his stupid t-shirt all the time. It was just soft and the cotton was the right thickness and reminded her of days off and it wasn’t like it smelled like him and she kept inhaling deeply whenever she put it on…

Anymore. 

“Okay, I’ll bring you something. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. We’re taking you to the bar and you’re going to find someone hot and dance and possibly make out with them and enjoy only having to worry about yourself for a change. You just need to let loose for a night.” 

“Okay,” she agreed quietly. 

It definitely was not okay. 

*****  
**Day 1409**

Ben liked Chicago, and he especially liked it was only a forty minute drive from his latest assignment. And he liked that it was somewhere to go that didn’t have Leslie’s name written all over it. 

He didn’t like that his first thought upon approaching the city was how weird it was they’d never gone there together and wouldn’t she love snuggling into his jacket on one of those boat cruises and taking six thousand pictures. 

It was good to see Henry. His brother was slightly taller than him with a lot less hair and a stockier build, more like their dad than he was by a mile. But unlike Steven Wyatt, Henry was easy going and would definitely distract him for a few days. Henry greeted him outside his apartment in a navy blue suit that made Ben’s own plaid shirt seem tackier than he already knew it was. 

“We’re going out.” Were the first words out of his lips when Ben dropped his overnight bag next to the L-shaped sofa. Henry's apartment was basically a shoebox and the couch took up way too much space, but it had a view of the river and a tiny balcony. 

“Uh, now - ”

“Yeah and you can’t wear that. Go put on one of my shirts.” 

“Uh, okay. What’s the - ”

“You need to go out.” 

“I do?” 

“Yes,” Henry threw a crisp button-down at him. “Look, I love Leslie. She’s great, she’s great for you and you guys were adorable, but you’re not with her anymore -”

“It’s temporary.” 

“ - and you need to go out and see what else is out there. So we’re gonna hit up a nice bar with some hot young professionals, and you’re going to pretend you like the taste of scotch with a twist and see what happens.” 

“Yeah, I’m really…it’s only been six weeks and I’m really not - ”

“Leslie’s Leslie, but you didn’t exactly have much to compare her to when you met her so you need to keep your options open. There are lots of smart, ambitious women in Chicago. You’ve been living in Nowheresville, Indiana too long.” 

“I don’t want to keep my options open. I wasn’t with Leslie because she was the best of a bad bunch - ” he felt his blood starting to boil a little as Henry tossed a tie at him. 

Also, he was talking in past tense. Why was he talking in past tense. Fuck. 

“Leslie’s not wallowing.” 

Ben stopped, letting the words wash over him. 

“I know I don’t know her half as well as you do, obviously, but I think I can safely say that she’s not sitting at home feeling sorry for herself wishing she had a reason to call you. She’s finding the best in the situation, she’s trying to see the upside and make the most of it. She’s not wallowing and you are and you’re missing the point of this whole…break thing. See if you can be happy without her.” 

“I can’t,” it came out strangled. “I don’t want to be.” 

Henry lifted an eyebrow. 

“Those are two different things, you know.” 

Ben did know, he was just hoping Henry hadn’t picked up on it. 

They went to a swanky bar in the River North area where everyone was in sleek suits and sipping cocktails. He ordered a scotch he could barely get down and chatted to a leggy redhead that seemed bored through most of their conversation and kept talking about art exhibits. And she’d never even seen Star Wars, so what the fuck was that about. Star Wars was totally mainstream. 

Henry also met a girl that night. A brunette with big eyes and long lashes who worked in HR. Ben miraculously convinced him not to bring her back to the apartment and instead just get her number and woo her a bit before they slept together. 

Ironically, three years later Henry married the girl. 

Ben was best man. 

*****  
**Day 1423**

Ann and Mark were fighting. 

Heatedly. With more passion than they’d ever displayed when they were together as Leslie sat sipping her warm beer in the corner of a small bar near City Hall. It was Friday night and she wasn’t drunk, but her strong, supportive muskox Ann Perkins definitely was. Tom and Donna had left to change the song on the jukebox and they were debating taking the party to somewhere a little crazier…which would basically mean the Glitter Factory or the Snakehole. 

That’s what Ann and Mark were fighting about. 

Well, that and her. They thought she couldn’t hear, but it wasn’t that loud and Ann was yelling. Oh boy, was Ann yelling. 

“She needs to get out and have some fun! Not just work fun. _Fun_ fun! How does that make me inconsiderate, Brendanawicz?” 

“Forcing her to hook up with the nearest thing with a pulse is not going to make her happy or forget why she’s sad. She's _sad_ , Ann! This isn’t something a crazy night out can fix! She’s not you!” 

“What is that supposed to mean - ”

“That you date superficially and she doesn’t and you’re trying to fix her post-breakup sadness like she would fix yours, which isn’t what she needs. Goddammit, how do you not see that?” 

It wasn’t lost on Leslie the nearest guys with a pulse were Mark, Tom, and Sid the bartender who had been happily married for 40 years. 

Ann stormed off, announcing she had to pee and Mark slid into the booth beside Leslie, reaching over and taking a sip of her beer. He leaned his head back and sighed. 

“What I’m about to say is totally unsolicited but I’m saying it anyway.” 

She laughed, tilting her head to his shoulder. She just felt so _tired_ all the time. She didn’t have the energy she normally did and though her work wasn’t suffering for it she didn’t feel like herself when she was doing it. Mark patted her knee. 

 “Don’t hook up with someone because you think it’ll take the sting of whatever this is away. It’ll feel good for an hour and then you’ll regret it and if you’re not careful they end up getting hurt too,” he looked at her pointedly. “Which is basically what I did to you, so sorry about that.” 

She stared at him for what felt like a long time. It was the first time he’d ever brought up their night together so many years before and though her feelings for Mark were long gone she was a little taken aback by it. 

“And also,” he handed her her beer back. “Don’t let anyone else - Ann or your mom or whoever - tell you what your relationship’s supposed to be. If you’re happy being long distance or happier together than you would be with someone else living in the same city then fuck them. Seriously.” 

He glanced up as Ann walked back from the bathroom and stared at them, eyes narrowed. Mark looked back to her. 

“Also, he’s a mess and I’m pretty sure if you told him what you really wanted he’d give it to you, no questions asked, and never resent you for it. I don't think he cares about running for office or working for the government as much as you think he does. At least not more than he cares about you.” 

Leslie turned and stared at Mark. But that was the point, she didn’t want to make him sacrifice what he wanted to be with her. She couldn’t imagine doing that and it didn’t seem fair to imagine him doing that.

Mark’s head dipped and he pecked her cheek. 

“I’ll take you home?” 

She nodded weakly, feeling drained from their brief conversation and craving her mattress for the first time in days. Ann asked if she was okay and she just nodded, letting Mark guide her out of the bar with his hand on the small of her back. 

On the drive to her place she asked Mark if he’d talked to Ben recently. He gave a little shrug and said he didn’t know any other nerds that loved stats. 

“I went up to Indy twice since…Are you mad?” 

“No,” she replied softly and Mark patted her knee. More than mad, she was reeling. There were so many questions she wanted to ask Mark about how he was and what he was doing and did he still have her red panties in a drawer in his dresser (okay, maybe she didn’t want to ask Mark _that_ specifically). Was his hair long or did he cut it too short again? Was a can of whipped cream still in his fridge? There were so many details she wanted. 

More than anything, she was kind of just glad they still had a common friend. Somehow Mark felt like a tether to Ben that wasn’t about to snap. 

*****  
**Day 1462**

Ben was back in Indy for a few weeks again and went out to a bar by himself on a Friday. He kissed a pretty, petite brunette who’d been eyeing him all night, laughed at a joke he made and touched his bicep. Petite in stature but also seeming frail, like too much of anything might break her; Leslie was tiny but she never seemed frail. The distinction was enough to make the idea of it bearable. 

The kiss itself was nice enough and she certainly made it known she wanted to take it further, rubbing his hip and letting her hand trail across the front of his slacks. Her lips were soft and she tasted like a green apple martini she’d been nursing. Her long curtain of dark hair smelled like coconut. 

They’d been broken up for four months. They’d stuck to the rules thus far and he wondered if Leslie was thinking about him as constantly as he still was thinking about her and realized probably not. Leslie likely found a way to be optimistic while he just sunk deeper into his hole of depression, hating that he didn’t know who to call when the townsfolk were restless and realizing nobody else was probably watching the same History Channel documentary he was. 

He was still kissing the girl when his phone vibrated in his pocket and it was Mark Brendanawicz. Ben disengaged himself from her (Shelly? Sherry? Shannon?) and said he had to take it. 

“Hey, Brendanawicz - ”

“Beeeenjamin. Hello Benjamin. Benjamin Wyatt. This is Leslie Knope of the Pawnee Parks Department. I may be in-ebriated.” 

He moved outside swiftly, dropping his forehead against the brick of the building. Her voice, her weirdly formal over the top, goofball, drunk-Leslie voice, made his stomach lurch. 

“Hello Leslie Knope of the Parks Department. Why are you calling me from Mark’s phone?” 

“Because we,” she slurred. “Ann Perkins, Tom Haverford, Donna Meagle and Mark Bren-dana-wicz are at the establishment known as the Snakehole Lounge located in Pawnee, Indiana, and I stole his phone. Well, he let me steal his phone. I’m very sneaky.” 

“Right. And why did he let you do that?” 

“Be-because I wanted to break the rule for phone calls and if it’s not on my phone it didn’t happen. Also, Ann stole my phone.” 

He held his breath. “Les - ”

“Are you dating anyone?” 

“What?” 

“Are you d-da-dating anyone?” She hiccuped. 

 He hesitated. “You’re breaking another rule.” 

“I know. I’m sorry. A-Ann Pe-Perkins still thinks I should ask Dave out, but I don’t want to because he’s a nice guy and that would be mean because I know I’m not… It’s okay I don’t want to, right?” 

God, she sounded so sad. He hated how sad she sounded. Any anger or resentment he’d been harbouring towards her because of everything fell completely away in that moment. 

“Babe, we can end this,” desperation flooded him and his whole body started to thrum. He didn’t want to date anyone and he certainly didn’t want her to date any cops. 

“I can be in Pawnee in an hour and a half and I can pick you up - why are you laughing?” 

“A guy kissed me ten minutes ago and I started crying.” 

Oh god, he hated everyone. He hated everyone in the world and the thought of her…he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about it, but she’d just told him and it was making him insane and he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He wanted to drive to Pawnee and punch the guy who had pressed his lips to hers because Leslie made him want to be a stupid brute, apparently. 

But he’d probably break his hand trying to punch anyone and knowing his luck the guy would be huge or another cop or something, and he was pretty sure his dad or Henry wouldn’t be able to talk him through it. 

Instead he offered her this: 

“I kissed someone too. And then Mark called, or you, I guess, and I…” 

“You were kissing someone when I called?” she inhaled. He bit his lip. 

“I uh…I guess I was.” 

“Why’d you stop?” 

“Stop what?” 

“You can’t stop _kissing someone_ to answer the phone, Ben! That’s rude.” 

She was getting shrill and he knew it was partially due to alcohol and partially due to her being upset. Leslie Knope was shrilly giving him advice on how to make out with other girls. 

Yup. The world was ending. 

“I thought you might need me,” it was all he could think of to say that was truthful without giving too much away. 

She made a little noise he couldn’t quite place and he physically ached to see her face. 

“Kissing is stupid if you’re not the one doing it with me. I just want to kiss you forever.” 

He shut his eyes to keep them from stinging. 

“I just want you to kiss me forever.” 

“I can’t kiss you forever if we live in different cities forever, Ben,” she squeaked and he heard muttering. 

“Ann Perkins says I have to go now.” 

“Say hi to Ann Perkins for me.”

The phone clicked and that was it. 

*****  
**Day 1462**

“Leeeeeees,” Ann sighed against her shoulder in the back of the cab. “You weren’t supposed to call him.” 

“But I miss him,” she pouted into the effervescent sea turtle’s shoulder. Ann smelled like strawberries and rainbows and Leslie was hoping it would end up being a girl’s night instead of a night that ended with her crying again because some guy with curly hair kissed her. 

“He was cute. That guy you made out with.” 

“He used too much tongue. Drunk guys always use too much tongue.” 

“Ben was drunk the first time you kissed him and that worked out.” 

She shut her eyes and smiled, flashing to that moment. If she could snap her fingers and go back she totally would right now, even if it meant her head got broken. 

And for the record, Ben totally didn’t use too much tongue. He used the exact amount of tongue to confirm how totally and completely she wanted to jump his bones and then proceeded to always use the right amount of tongue everywhere…

Leslie must’ve been grinning because Ann sighed, exasperation leeching through in her drunk state. 

“Leslie, why did you suggest this break, break up, whatever?” 

“So we could be apart for a bit and decide what we really needed.” 

“Was it?” Ann shifted to face her and grabbed her hands. “Or was it because you wanted to see if you could survive a break up and move on without officially calling it a break up?” 

“No!” she snapped suddenly, face feeling hot and head starting to spin. “I don’t know I just…I’m tired. I don’t want to do this anymore.” 

“Maybe six months isn't enough.” 

Leslie stared at her. 

“No, think about it. You were together for a really long time and you’re…you’re right, Mark’s right, it’s too soon for you to be trying to do this. You aren’t ready and that’s okay,” she squeezed her hand. “Maybe…maybe you need more than six months. Maybe you need to just…not have an end date.” 

“You think we should…break up for good?” 

“It might be the only way to really try and see what else is out there. Whether it’s other guys or with work or…whatever. You keep falling back on Ben because he’s still kind of in the wings waiting for you.” 

“But I love my job,” she took a breath. “I love my job, I love my friends, I love my life and I want my life to include Ben.” 

“I just…am not sure that’s possible. Ben’s ambitious and he’s got plans for himself too. You’re imagining yourselves twenty years from now as some…political power couple but you have to get there first. You want to be married, you want kids, you want to stay in Pawnee. Does Ben want that? Do you even know?” 

“I thought I did.” 

It was then it occurred to Leslie Ann was checking her phone. A lot. The cab pulled up to Ann's house.

“Try and get some sleep. Think about this and we'll talk tomorrow, okay?” 

Leslie tilted her head curiously, noting how hurried her friend's words sounded now.

“Sure.” 

“Kay,” Ann hugged her warmly before running through her yard. 

*****  
**Day 1469  
7pm**

“Does this one count as our phone call for the month then?” 

It was the next Saturday night and after talking to Leslie he’d gone home from the bar annoyingly sober and fell face first onto the mattress without even undressing. He’d dreamt of her kissing guys in cop uniforms while he sat watching handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. 

Because, life. 

“I’m sorry I…while you were…I’m sorry because I was kind of hoping it was Friday night and if you _were_ kissing another girl I would ruin it with my phone call. That’s not fair and I shouldn’t have asked you that question and or…I’m sorry.” 

He laughed softly and dropped his head into his hand. 

“This is so - ”

“Ann and Chris had sex.” 

He blinked, startled out of his maudlin state. “What?” 

“Chris came to Pawnee last week because apparently we might be in trouble with our budget and I guess they knew your…our…they didn’t think you’d be the right person to send and so Chris came alone to do an initial assessment and apparently they started talking and they had sex.” 

“What happened to the - ”

“Andy? They broke up a while ago.” 

“Oh.” 

And then he started to laugh hysterically. Because of course, Ann and Chris would find themselves in the same city casually sleeping together years later when Leslie and Ben were clawing to preserve whatever they still had. 

That was the joke of Ben Wyatt’s life. The more he wanted something, the more he tried to make something happen, the more the universe laughed in his face. 

Want to run for mayor and make your city better? Fuck up epically, get impeached and run out of town. 

Want to be practical and colour within the lines all the time? Meet a girl who draws her own lines. 

Want to show how responsible you are so you can run for office again? Make people in towns all over Indiana despise you and send death threats. 

Want to spend your life with said girl with big passion and dreams to match it? Take a job that has neither of those things and keeps you far away from her 90% of the year. 

And she started laughing too and he knew the irony wasn’t lost on her. 

“That’s so unfair.” 

“Right?! She told me the sex was ridiculous.”

“Ughhh, don’t tell me stuff like that. I don’t want to know how Chris…ew.” 

She cackled and then he lost it totally, and spent the next few minutes breathless with laughter for the first time in a really long time. 

“What are you doing tonight?” 

“I am sitting at home watching Blade Runner and ordering a chicken parm from that Italian place by my apartment.” 

“You always watch that. I’m watching the Princess Bride. You should watch it with me.” 

“First of all, I don’t own that movie, we always use your copy. Second of all, you always watch that so you leave Blade Runner out of this, Buttercup. And third of all, sitting on the phone with you for over two hours breaks rule number - ”

“You should come here and watch it with me.” 

Ben almost dropped the phone. 

“I propose a new rule,” she cleared her throat. “The honorable delegate from Pawnee proposes you come over to watch The Princess Bride with me when our best friends are having sex again and we’re really lonely and all she can think about is how much she misses you and really wants to talk to you in person.” 

He could tell she was holding her breath. 

“I mean, I’m really lonely. Are…” 

“The honorable delegate from Indianapolis proposes he’ll bring food. Waffles.” How he managed to say that calmly he’d never know. 

“The honorable delegate from Pawnee will open wine.”


	11. Addendums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie & Ben's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last real chapter - just an epilogue to follow after this. 
> 
> Finally. Hahah. Thanks so much to everyone still reading who stuck with this! Enjoy!

**Day 1469  
8:17pm**

“Ann, Ann, Ann, Ann! It’s Leslie Knope! Answer your damn - oh, you’re calling me back. Okay, great, disregard this message - HI ANN!” 

“Leslie, what the - ”

 “I did something bad.” She was wandering around the same patch of carpet, wearing a hole in the floor. “Very bad. And you weren’t around to read me the script.” 

“I was…” Ann hesitated. 

“Ann, you sophisticated naive newborn baby, I love you very much but if you say you were with Chris I might punch you in your beautiful face.” 

“Ohhhhkay,” she sensed Ann was getting comfortable, which was probably wise. She should be sitting down for this. “What did you do?” 

“I called Ben and he’s coming over.” 

“Oh boy. To…are you breaking up with him for good?” 

Leslie didn’t answer. 

“Are you - ”

“I’m something. I don’t know. I was hoping I’d figure it out when he got here.” 

“When’s he getting here?” 

“In…ten minutes or so.” 

“Oh no, Lesssss," she sounded resigned but understanding. “Okay, you have to talk. Promise me you’ll talk before you do…whatever.” 

“Jump his bones.” Because besides being sad the very idea of having Ben in her house was making her _super horny_. She’d tried a handful of times since their break to get herself off just for the sake of it, but couldn’t stay out of her head long enough to achieve success. And Ben was _so good_ at stopping her brain. She shivered just thinking about it. 

“Yes, that. Talk before you do that. Just see where he is and maybe hopefully you'll get some answers and then maybe you won’t even want to jump his bones… I mean, maybe he’ll say he hates Pawnee or puppies or parks are stupid or…”

“Do you think I - ”

“Look, I know you want…I know. I get it. But having sex with him tonight may not be healthy, which is why you have to promise me you’ll talk about this. At least so you can decide if you’re going back to long distance or if you’re…I mean, what if he says he’s sticking with the auditor job for another three years? You have to know where you stand and sleeping with him will only make ending things harder.”  

“Maybe I move to Indy.” 

“ _Leslie_.” 

“I don’t know, I’m just…spitballing! Plus, Chris might be firing me and then I’ll need a job anyway and I’m stressed out and Ben understands this stuff and I just…want him here right now! I didn’t tell you not to hook up with Chris even though he might fire me!” 

Ann took a breath. 

“Just _talk_. Please talk first, Leslie, okay? It’s important. Also, do you have condoms?” 

“No, but I never went off the pill.” 

“But…did he…has he with anyone…?” 

“Ohhhhh god.” 

“No no no no. He probably hasn’t. It’s fine. And if not, so you run to the store, no big deal.” 

“If _not_?” 

“I’m sure he hasn’t had sex with anyone else.” 

“Not even the - ”

“Not even the hot brunette he works with,” she paused. “I can hear you hyperventilating. I need you to sit down and breathe and not overthink this. He’s coming over so you can talk about your future plans and then decide if you want to kiss and make up or break up for good. Keep it simple.” 

“Ann, you’re so strong and brilliant and wise and the best nurse ever.” 

“Thank you. Do you know what you’re wearing?” 

 “I put on those sexy sweat pants you gave me and that blue sweater.” 

“Okay, no sweat pants are sexy, those are just more flattering than your IU fleece ones - but that’s good! That’s good. You’ll look relaxed. Look relaxed,” she paused. 

“Call me later, okay?” 

“I will.” 

“And if you need me for any reason or you want me to come over just call and I will definitely be available. Deal?” 

Leslie smiled. Ann Perkins was the best. 

*****

**8:30pm**

Eighty-nine minutes later Ben greeted Leslie on her doorstep with a soft kiss on the cheek and got a little smile in return. She looked tired and lacking…something. Flat and without any of her inherent spark, she just didn’t seem like herself. He wanted to pull her against him and rub her back until she fell asleep on his chest. She looked like he felt.

And then he remembered his weren’t the last lips she’d kissed and vice versa and forgot the rules entirely. He dropped the JJ’s containers on the porch, cupped her face and pressed their mouths together languidly for several seconds. Leslie whimpered and exhaled, gripping his back when they parted. Fuck, she felt good. Warm and sweet and pliant, the weight of how much he’d missed her hit him hard in that moment. 

He tucked an errant curl behind her ear and rubbed her sides gently. Her small hand slid to grip the front of his shirt, as though afraid he might pull too far away. 

“I can’t believe Chris didn’t tell me he was coming to Pawnee.” 

“He’s here for two weeks and then they’re sending another auditor to help him because we bankrupted the town, and people are going to lose their jobs. I guess that’s why you’re not getting a new assignment right now.” She was jittery, bouncing on her feet and her big eyes wide with worry. 

“I just don’t get why they wouldn’t…” he gave his head a shake, bending for the waffles and grabbing her hand to pull her inside. 

“Chris is too wishy washy, nothing gets done when it’s just him. Why would they…?” 

She lingered behind him, ghosting the fingers of the hand he wasn’t clutching along his spine before she closed the door and locked it. He turned and saw her face was set in a frown. She was thinking too hard about something. 

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” 

“We have to cut the Parks budget by 42%, and I make the second highest salary and…” 

“Shit.” It was her job they were looking at cutting. Ben felt cold all of a sudden. “Shit, shit shit.” 

“I - ”

“Ron’s going to have to go to bat for you,” his muscles tensed and Ben felt himself launching into action. She had a problem and he solved problems for a living and everything between them for the last four months, even the last four years, seemed reduced to one single fact: he could help her fix this. 

“He’ll have to explain to them how valuable you are and how there’s no possible way the department would function without you. Do you want me to talk to him?,” he ran his hand through his hair and started pacing. She just watched, staying stationary but letting her arm move with him 

“And you’ll need to come up with an idea to bring in revenue and maybe…maybe cut some other jobs too, okay? Because you’re right about your salary, and Ron’s fiscally responsible, but you’re invaluable. You are the goddamn Parks department.” 

He felt so fired up because Chris, of all people, _should know_ what she was like and worth and how could he not - 

 “This isn’t why I called you, you know.” 

“Where’s your…” he finally released her and spun around looking for the stack of idea binders in her living room. “Where’s your latest binder for Parks projects? We’ll pull some ideas out; I’ll help you pick one to present,” he spotted them in a corner started rifling. If they needed to go to City Hall they would, but she usually kept a copy at home as well. 

“Babe, get your computer. We can start a skeleton PowerPoint as we go.” 

“Can you just,” she reached for his hand again, easing him away from the colourful binders as she wound her arms around his waist. He stopped moving and more or less breathing as she pulled him closer. “Can we talk about that tomorrow? Tonight I just want to…” 

He knew something was wrong when Leslie didn’t want to talk about work and Parks projects. 

“I’m so tired, Ben, and my whole week has been about this. Tonight I just want to sit with you, and watch the movie and maybe laugh more about Chris and Ann and talk about an addendum I’d like to make to Operation MIWFR rules. I just want to be with Ben the boyfriend, not Ben the state auditor, even if he is trying to save my job.” 

“Will I…be here tomorrow?” His chest burned with the acknowledgement he was still her boyfriend and he might be spending the night. 

“If you," she began hopefully, eyes glassy. “If you could have anything in the world for the rest of your life what would it be - ”

“You.” He leaned in and rubbed her arms. “Still you.” 

“It could be anything. You could be…a Senator or President or Chairman of the - ”

“You.” 

“Ben.” 

“You. You. You,” he moved his hands to cup her neck. “Maybe I run for office, maybe I don’t. Maybe I’m an accountant and you’re running for office and we stay up all night working on your campaign and practicing for debates. That’s fine, that’s more than fine. That’s great. That sounds pretty awesome, actually.” 

He dropped his forehead to hers for a beat and they both exhaled. 

“Maybe you’re…running the town or the state or the country and your advisors say ‘President Knope, we have to go over your State of the Union’ and then you read it to me that night and we make notes.” 

Her laugh came out like a choked sob. He was picturing it, her standing on their bed in the White House residence, wearing his t-shirt instead of Presidential pajamas as he watched propped up against some pillows. 

“Or maybe not,” he rubbed her arms. “Maybe you run for City Council and hate it and take some federal parks job and we move to Chicago and you wow everyone and I’m just there, right along side you.” 

She squirmed a little, but she was smiling sadly. 

“But I don’t want you to not have dreams and goals. You should have them too. I want you to feel like you can accomplish things and I want you want things and work for things, instead of just being tied to me - ”

“Leslie.” He crouched to get her eyes. “Being tied to you is what I want. You make me better. You make me try more and work harder and with you I just…I’m better for being with you.” 

He kind of held up his hands with a shrug and then she was kissing him, hard and slow and not breaking away until his lungs were burning and his head was spinning. 

“You’re too hard on yourself,” she gasped when they parted for breath, she stroked his face. “You’re way too hard on yourself.” 

“See,” he squeezed her wrists. “I need you to tell me that.” 

“You shouldn’t.” 

“Okay, then I want you to tell me that. I want you there, with me, every day, reminding me of that.” 

She gave him a watery smile and he kissed her forehead. 

“Tell me about your addendum.” 

Her breath was shaky and her hands were trembling in his. 

“I…” She stared at him blankly and he realized she was at a loss for words. That happened about once a decade from what he could tell. He swallowed and stepped closer. 

“Well,” he began, smoother than he had any right to be. “Does this addendum mean I get to do this…?” he dipped his head and kissed her slowly, exploring her mouth with precision. She made a contented sound and he nipped at her lip before pulling away. Her eyes stayed closed and she swayed. 

“Yes.” 

“And this?” he kissed her neck gently and when he felt her nod he suckled. She gripped his arms. 

“It means,” she cleared her throat. “It means if we want to see each other and be together we do that, but we don’t have to. We don’t force it. We just do what feels right and if being together feels right in the moment and calling each other feels right in the moment then - ” she giggled when he captured her lips with his and it was the best sound in the world. Being with her always felt right.

“But we both have to agree,” she pressed her fingers to his lips. “And we can still…if you wanted to date other - ”

“Stop, stop, stop. Seriously stop. There’s no one I want to date,” he exhaled. “The honorable delegate from Indianapolis proposes an addendum to the addendum.” 

He swept her hair to the side and pressed her gently against the wall, nuzzling across her throat and nipping and suckling as he went. She clutched at his shirt and he felt a surge of blood to his cock just from being so close to her. 

“Which is?” 

He lifted his head and got her eyes. 

“I love you. Let’s just be together, find a way to actually be together and end this.” 

It occurred to Ben, not for the first time, that he only felt truly desirable was when she was touching him and looking at him through heavy lidded eyes. 

She took both his hands and stretched up to kiss him. 

“We’re talking about this more and watching the movie and eating waffles. I promised Ann.”

Ben almost groaned - almost - and had to remind himself he actually did still like Ann. Leslie started to pull away and he followed obediently, but halfway through the living room she stopped and spun around. 

“I mean we kind of talked, didn’t we. We spent a good…minutes talking.” 

He bit his lip. “Uhhh yeah, I feel like we talked. We covered a lot of ground too. We’re very efficient communicators.” 

“Right. Quality over quantity. So…that probably counts, right? I mean if Ann asked me if we talked you would back me up on that?” 

 “Oh yeah, totally. It totally counts,” every nerve ending in his body was firing and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face even though her lips were still pursed. 

“Great,” she declared abruptly and launched herself towards him, reaching for his shirt and tugging his mouth back to hers. 

*****  
**10pm**

Leslie was sitting cross legged on her bed facing Ben. He was draped on his side and two of his long fingers were stroking her shin. A shiver rolled down her spine when she recalled how quickly she’d orgasmed when those same long fingers had ended up inside her. Like, embarrassingly quickly. Like a fifteen year old guy watching porn for the first time. 

Or, what she imagined that would be like. 

And Ben hadn’t been with anyone else, for the record. She’d babbled the question with his tongue against her hipbone and the look he gave her was everything she needed to know. 

Interestingly, he didn’t ask her the question back, settling his mouth between her thighs and working her over so well she could’ve melted into the sheets. Leslie supposed her record-setting orgasm made it pretty clear what her sexual history had been for the past four months. 

And Ben would know that because it was Ben and they’d had sex about a thousand times and it always felt like he was inside her mind when they did. 

“I knew you still had my shirt,” Ben’s hand reached up and he tugged on the front. She grinned as he leaned in and kissed her knee. 

“Do you want kids?” She asked suddenly. 

He blinked and rolled onto his back with a laugh and a groan. 

“We’ve talked about this.” 

“Not really. Not seriously.” 

“Ohhh god,” he draped an arm over his eyes. “Yes Leslie, not tomorrow, but yes, I want kids. With you, because getting you to slow down when you’re seven months pregnant is going to be a nightmare and I like a challenge.” 

She beamed and kissed him lightly. Ben had been drowsy since they’d finished, but she felt wired now, as though every cell in her body was buzzing. 

“You want to eat waffles and watch the movie now?” 

“I will eat waffles and drink wine in bed with you, but let’s save the movie because,” he kissed up to her bare thigh. “We have lots to talk about.” 

“Can we…I know we should discuss what happens next with us and the Parks budget, but,” she shivered when his nose wormed up to her panties. 

“Beeeeen,” she squeaked. He rested his chin on her leg. He was scruffy and his hair was unkempt and his eyes still reminded her of warm brownies and _ugh, could they just stay like this forever?_

Well, maybe not forever. She’d be pretty bored without work. 

“Did you see that special on the Roosevelts?” 

“YES!” she squeaked. “Nobody else watched it! Did you watch it? What did you think about that stuff on the New Deal?” 

He smiled into her skin and kissed her knee. “I’ll get the wine and waffles. Serious stuff can wait until tomorrow,” he rolled away and swung his feet to the floor.

“And you better tell me everything I need to know about Ann and Chris because if they’re actually dating again you know we’re going to have to go to some raw vegan restaurant and eat kale salad and yeast, because he’s into that now.” 

When she didn’t answer he turned to face her. Leslie was grinning so widely her cheeks hurt. 

“Why do you look happy about eating raw yeast?’ 

“I’m not.” 

He crawled across the bed and kissed her teeth. “JJ said he hadn’t seen you in a while when I went in.” 

She shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t feeling like waffles.” 

He lifted her shirt and she squeaked as he pinched her waist. “I thought you looked smaller than usual; how have you not wasted away? Waffles are like…80% of your diet.” 

Leslie swatted at him and he kissed her belly until she shoved his shoulder.

“Waffles and wine, please.” 

“You got it.” 

*****  
**Day 1470  
2am**

She was pretty when she slept. She’d tell him he was weird for watching her, but it was such a rare occasion she was sleeping when he was not and he kind of relished the moments where her cheek was against his arm and her face was smooth and relaxed, her hair falling softly against her neck. They wine had hit her hard and after one glass she was hunkering down under the blankets and whispering nonsense about FDR into his chest. 

He was tired too, but also felt energized in a way he hadn’t in months, so he didn’t force sleep. Instead he cuddled down beside her and let it wash over him gradually. 

*****  
**4am**

“Ben, Ben, Ben, wake up!” she shook him hard and he groaned into his pillow, grumbling about wanting to sleep until at least the birds were awake. He was so cute sleeping but she _needed_ him to wake up. 

“No no no, honey, I had an idea. The sex made me sleep and then I got an idea.” 

Her head felt clear for the first time in months. Ben sighed, rolling over and reaching for her bedside lamp. When it was on he sat up, propping the pillows behind his back and squinting. She smoothed down his bedhead. God, she’d missed that. She missed him looking half asleep, but indulging her brainstorming sessions at ridiculous hours anyway. 

“Alright, hit me.” 

“The Harvest Festival! It’ll generate revenue for Pawnee. We’d just have to get local businesses to participate. I’ll give a presentation to Chris and whoever they send with him and I’ll show them pictures from the old festival and we’ll get everyone to help and people will come from all over the state and it’ll be perfect. I was thinking about it because I was thinking about you and us and my next scrapbook, and I remembered my test and how you yelled at me, but it would actually work, Ben. I told you I’d find a way to create revenue to save jobs.” 

“That’s…” he leaned back against his pillow and shut his eyes against the light. “That’s actually a really good idea. Except you’ll have virtually no budget; you’ll need local businesses to support you and donate stuff and you’ll have to get the police force to volunteer to work security, and if the festival fails…” 

“We’re screwed, I know. But it won’t fail, because I won’t let it.” 

She could do it. She could work hard enough and want it badly enough to make it happen. Just like she could work hard enough to make Ben happen. 

“You should’ve gone out with the cop. Then you could’ve got him to get the chief to volunteer officers - ” he squawked. Because she hit him with a pillow. Because he totally deserved it. 

“It’ll work, Ben.” 

“I know. I like it,” he leaned over and pecked her gently. “Now go to sleep.”

 “I have to start working on my presentation!” 

“See, that was my suggestion seven hours ago but you had other plans,” he yawned and kissed her neck. “Tomorrow. I’ll help you tomorrow. Go to sleep,” he turned off the light again and chucked her binder to the side of the bed, pulling her down beside him and spooning her. 

In the dark her optimism faltered and her fears came out. It was always that way. She needed him as much then as she did when she was on a roll. 

“What if it doesn't work and I get everyone and myself fired?” 

“It’ll work, Leslie.” 

“But if it doesn’t - ”

“Then you get a job elsewhere, you run for City Council when there’s a vulnerable seat and you get back into government that way. Or you relocate for a bit and then come back and make them wish they’d never let you go.” 

She sighed, because even though the thought was unappealing he was correct and it made the gamble seem worth it. 

“You’re so smart.” 

“Well, I eliminate jobs for a living so I should be good at this stuff. But trust me, anyone they send with Chris will be an easier sell than I am. I’m the hard ass and I still think it’s a good idea.” 

She rolled into him, reaching around and squeezing his butt. He grunted, pulling her on top of him. 

“When do you have to go back?” 

“Who cares,” he kissed her nose. “I don’t even want to think about it now. I’ll take some personal days, I’ll look for a different job where I can at least stay in Indy and commute or something…” he patted her hip. “This trial separation whatever thing worked because I’m done with this; I just want to be with you. My job doesn't make me happy, you do. So just, bear with me for the next couple of weeks to get work sorted and we’ll figure it out.” 

Leslie had to fight to keep the ridiculous grin off her face. She settled her head against his chest and sighed contently. Her job did make her happy, but not like he did. 

“Wanna watch the Princess Bride now?” 

“Leslie, it’s 4am. Go to sleeeep.” 

She cackled and kissed his chest as his arms tightened around her. 

*****  
**8am**

She was sitting at the kitchen table, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail with her laptop, binders and a coffee mug overflowing with whipped cream. He felt like he could’ve slept for a year in her bed, but she of course could never stay for more than a few hours. He slid up behind her, pressing her hands to his shoulders and kissing her ear. 

“Harvest Festival?” 

“No, I was waiting for you for that,” she turned as he slid into the chair beside her and glanced at the papers. He frowned when he realized he was looking at job postings. 

“What are…are these jobs in Indy for me?” 

“No, no, you’d be overqualified for these,” she patted his hand easily and scooped up some whipped cream with her finger. “They’re for me.” 

He blinked, grabbing her wrist. 

“What?”  

“I could move to Indy. I can still work at the government in Indy and if you’re willing to be here for me then I should at least be willing to do the same.” 

“You’d leave Pawnee? And your job?” He lifted an eyebrow. She sighed. “What about Harvest Festival?” 

“I mean I wouldn't love the idea, but I would do it for you. For us. It’s not like it would hurt my career long term and if they’re going to eliminate my job anyway…We can make a pros and cons list!” 

“They’re not going to eliminate your job, Leslie,” he swept some hair off her shoulder. “And my job doesn’t mean nearly as much to me as yours does to you and I’d be quite happy getting out of government work if it meant making us good. And I’m fine with that, I promise you. You’re not…asking too much.” 

He saw something flicker behind her eyes and knew he’d hit the nail on the head. She would’ve asked him to move to Pawnee a long time ago if she didn’t think she being hypocritical. He turned her chair and pulled her pen out of her hands.

 “I’m,” he rubbed her arms. “I think it’s amazing you’d move to Indy for me, but I’m happy coming here. You love Pawnee and have a festival to organize and wow everyone and I love you so this is where we’ll be, at least for now - ”

He laughed when she kissed him, dragging her into his lap while she continued to flip through the rest of her binder. 

“Are these jobs for me then?” 

She nodded. 

“Are they all in Pawnee?” 

“Within a thirty minute drive. And the starting salaries are pretty close to what you’re making right now or higher. But obviously you can take some time if you want to and you could still keep your apartment in Indy…” 

He yawned into her arm. If that night at the bar was him in Hell, this was basically the opposite. 

“Okay, this isn’t comfy,” he declared after several minutes. He scooped her up and deposited her on the couch. “Breakfast?” 

“Pancakes?” 

He kissed her forehead before padding off to the kitchen. 

*****  
**Day 1475**

Ben looked rumpled when he got out of his car in his work clothes. His hair was sticking out at odd angles and his tie hung in his hand. He grinned cutely when the door opened and she waved at him. 

“Hey.” 

He dipped his head and kissed her lightly. “Hi. How was your week?” 

“Long, boring, they won’t let me do anything. We have no money. Ron’s going to all these meetings and we’re just sitting on everything. Did you see the last draft of my presentation I sent you?” 

He nodded and nudged her inside. Leslie reached out to unbutton his shirt a bit more and rub his chest. 

“Were you in the car all day?” 

“Most of it,” he admitted heavily. “I uh…I took that new assignment.” 

Her breath hitched. He’d asked her about it, apparently his bosses at Indy wanted to send him to another town and though he insisted he fully planned to move to Pawnee at the next possible opportunity he didn’t have a job yet and he’d have to give two weeks notice anyway so he might as well get a few extra weeks of income out of it until he found something else. 

Ann had lifted an eyebrow when Leslie relayed this information, but hadn’t said anything else.

 “Where is it again?” 

“Uhhh,” he rubbed his neck and if she didn’t know any better she would’ve said he looked nervous. “Just like…West…west of here.” 

“Benjamin Wyatt, do not lie to me.” 

“I’m not,” he kissed her with more pressure. “I’m gonna take a shower before we eat. You wanna go out? Somewhere nice?” 

“Dooooon’t change the subject,” she squeaked when he dragged her against him and headed down the hall. “Ben!” 

“Come take a shower with me,” he cupped her face and slid his tongue passed her lips. “And then we’ll go to that bistro place and get the cheesecake you like.” 

“You’re not telling me something,” she pouted as he started working on her buttons and backed into the bathroom. 

“It’s a tiny little place with more farm animals than people annnnnnd I love you annnnnnnd please get in the shower with me because the heat’s broken in my car and I’m cold and tired and my head hurts and you’re worrying and please stop. I’m still applying to other jobs.” 

Leslie shot him a look as he wormed her out of her clothes, but found herself squealing as soon as they were under the stream of her shower together. He kissed her nose. 

“Trust me?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Offff course.” 

*****  
**Day 1478**

He made it through the entire weekend without telling her, which was a challenge because Leslie Knope was a dog with a bone when she knew he was hiding something. 

He probably should’ve confessed. It was kind of a mean trick to play. But he didn’t because her face was just… _so worth it_. 

He’d called Chris on the way back to Indy after they’d made up to chew him out for not telling him about Pawnee. And then he’d made Chris get their superiors in Indianapolis to assign him to Chris. He wasn’t allowed to touch Parks stuff, obviously, but he was in Pawnee for the foreseeable future. 

So it was only a _little_ mean when he strode through City Hall that day, dressed in his black suit and swinging his briefcase as they went in to introduce themselves to the departments without telling her. He actually was a little terrified when he got her eyes as she meandered out of her office. 

Leslie kept her composure until lunch time and then accosted him in his office, hitting him and kissing him and hitting him some more while Chris was out on his ten mile run, and asking where he was staying even though they both knew the answer. He was saving the Indiana State Government some money on a room at the Pawnee Super Suites and shacking up with a cute, blonde Parks employee. As long as she was okay with it. The only thing that stopped the cycle of hitting and kissing was whispering _Ann knew_ in her ear as she slid off his lap…which made her run out of his office. To call Ann, he assumed. 

That afternoon he found a key on his desk on a Pawnee Porpoises keychain. 

When he came back to the house that day she was out running some errands and there was a blue booklet on the kitchen table with a purple post-it on the front. The only business test of hers he’d ever marked. 

_I told you a Harvest Festival was a great idea to boost revenue and save jobs. Even the hard ass state auditor thought so when I pitched it this afternoon. I think he might have a crush on me though._

_P.S. I love you.  
P.P.S. I made room in the closet and some drawers for you._

Inside the booklet were half a dozen more post-its with an assortment of Kiss Monsters and “I told you sos” and one “Money isn’t everything, Mr. Wyatt.” 

He was still engulfed in the test booklet when the front door opened. 

“Helllllooooo, Mr. State Auditor Wyatt. Welcome to my home. This is highly inappropriate.” 

He quirked a smile. “Sorry, Ms. Knope. I don’t mean to intrude. I just wanted to talk to you about your Harvest Festival plans in more detail. It seems you’ve had this one under your belt for a while.” 

She kept a straight face, crossing towards him and dropping her bags on the floor. 

“A jerk TA gave me a 59 in college for that idea. I sure showed him.” 

He snorted and tugged on the front of her blouse. Now she giggled, winding her arms around his waist and kissing him. 

“I just…I can’t believe this is…you’re here for,” she slid her hands down his arms. “A while.” 

He smiled and rubbed her back. 

“Go change. I’ll make dinner.” 

“Okay, but just so we’re clear if I have sex with you later it’s not in exchange for supporting my Harvest Festival proposal. It’s because I like your butt and your face.” 

“Offfff course,” he dragged her back and pressed his lips to behind her ear before she practically skipped up the stairs. 

*****  
**Day 1573**

“It’s a good ferris wheel,” he grinned and fed her a bit of cotton candy. “I like that we get to take it on the maiden voyage…although we probably could’ve waited until they’d tested it a few more times. I’d rather not die in a fiery ferris wheel accident.”

 “Right. Me either, we should avoid one of those.” 

He grinned. 

“Hey, look at the corn maze! It’s lit up!” she sighed contently and rested her head on his shoulder. “I really don’t want you to go back to Indy after Harvest Fest.” 

“I know, but it’s just until I find something permanent here and then I’ll be back in this special town of weirdos. And I have all those contacts now, which is good. That'll expedite the process.”

“You like it here.” 

He kissed her forehead and draped his arm around her. “I like it and I can’t wait to be back.”

“Pawnee can’t wait to have you back.” 

“Just Pawnee?” 

She grinned, lacing their fingers together. 

*****  
**Day 1580**

He didn’t tell her when Chris offered him the Assistant City Manager job the day before Harvest Fest started. It had been mentioned in passing to him a few times, but he assumed he would be looked over given his relationship with a very vocal Deputy Director of the Parks Department, but apparently it just meant he couldn’t oversee her department. They’d been dating for so long everyone on the committee knew their situation before they’d even considered him, so it worked out and Chris was on board with it, and it would be disclosed officially if he took the job. 

Ben took it, obviously, but he didn’t tell her because they both had more important things to worry about. Pulling off Harvest Fest for starters…

And buying a ring, which was stupidly hard, when it came down to it. There were about a million and Leslie had never been much for extravagance and the guy behind the counter looked like he pitied him. Ben finally settled on one that seemed nice and simple without being plain, and he thought would look pretty on her finger. 

“Ben, we have to go back so they can finish cleaning up. Everyone wants to go home.” 

“But it’s our last time to go in the corn maze before they take it down.” 

She siiiighed, tugging on his fingers and murmuring he was going the wrong way. 

“I know where I’m going,” he pulled her closer and steered her around the corner to an empty clearing bathed in moonlight. 

“Here?” she lifted an eyebrow. “It’s a dead end.” 

“Two things,” he dropped her hand and turned around. “Chris offered me a job as Assistant City Manager here until Paul recovers at least so…I took it - ”

He laughed when she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. 

 “Wait, wait,” he kissed whatever skin he could reach. “Two things, two things.” 

“You’re _staying_.” She choked out and he took a breath, quelling his nerves and pulling her in. 

“Sorry. I should’ve mentioned it earlier, but I wanted to surprise you.” 

“No, no, that’s," she swiped at her cheeks. “That’s perfect, that’s…that’s all there is…that’s the best thing you could’ve told me.” 

He felt his own eyes brim with tears and stepped away from her a little, reaching into his pocket and dropping to his knee. 

She cried, he cried, she shouted “yes” before he could even finish the question and they kissed and grinned and held each other close. 

They came out of the corn maze hand in hand and everyone was there with hugs and kisses and offering to take them out for champagne to celebrate. And they went and they toasted and it was way too late when they strode through the front door of her (their) house slightly tipsy with their arms around each other’s waists grinning like idiots. 

When they curled up in bed and kissed goodnight he was certain that was the happiest he’d ever been.


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie's POV

“Kay, babe, are you ready?” His hands were warm over her eyes and she was squirming with anticipation. 

“It’s not bigger than mine, is it?” 

He sighed, but she felt his grin when he kissed behind her ear. 

“No Leslie, your office is still bigger.” 

“Not that I’m competitive.” 

“Of course not.” 

“And the triplets spend more time in mine anyway so I really need the room. You won’t be here all the time.” 

“It’s true.” 

“And there are lots of Congressmen but there’s only one Midwest Regional Director of the National Parks - ”

“Leslie.” 

“Sorry,” she sighed. “I get competitive.” 

He shuffled behind her, the fabric of his new suit feeling stiff against her bare arms. She had a vivid recollection of going with him to pick it out, a week after he’d been elected. She’d chosen a silk tie with faint, almost indiscernible plaid checks woven throughout it. Because Congressman or not, he was still her Ben. 

When he peeled his hand back she smiled with a bit of a lump in her throat. It wasn’t huge and there was too much furniture for the space and there were already stacks of paper covering his desk…but he had a great view of DC and her chest tightened when she truly appreciated how significant this was for him, even if he was totally downplaying it because he wasn’t one for theatrics and self-promotion. 

She’d gotten teary eyed when they’d found out he’d won and he’d just smiled and kissed her and said he couldn’t have done it without her. 

He totally could have, but she was glad he didn’t have to. 

There were only a couple of pictures around the room, a select one from their wedding where he was looking at her like…it still startled her a little when she realized he looked at her like that. There was another from a vacation when he had just moved to Pawnee, where they both had less wrinkles and her hair was blonder than it was now; it was the kind of picture they would never take of themselves, but Ann had snuck it when they went to Ron’s cabin one weekend and they weren’t looking. They were cuddling in a wooden chair wrapped in a flannel blanket, staring ahead into the clear blue water at nothing in particular. She remembered feeling like if she had to pick a moment to die happy that would be it. She remembered picturing their future before them in a way that was probably way too impractical for someone in her mid-20s. 

And there were the kids, too, just one or two select photos that wouldn’t overwhelm the space but would remind him what home really was. Her office was similar in that respect, it was easy to get bogged down by work and aspirations and sometimes you just needed a reminder of what was really important. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty small,” he admitted with an easy shrug, releasing her so she could look around. “But it’s just temporary, right? Until we take over the Oval?” 

“Of course,” she slid into his chair and leaned back in it. “Wait wait, come here, come here, I’ll get a picture of you at your desk.” 

“Leslie, you’ve taken like fifty pictures of me already - ”

“And I’m taking another one so shut up and come sit at your desk.” 

He sighed, rubbing his cheek sheepishly and making his way across the floor. She got up as he sunk down into the leather, going back around to the other side of the desk and whipping out her phone. 

He didn’t notice her flip the lock. 

“Now,” she grinned in a way she hoped was sexy. “Imagine you’ve been pouring over all these very important documents for hours and hours and oh look, a sexy blonde just walked in and wants to help you relax.” 

“Honey,” he warned, her little sex role play scenarios always made him blush but he totally got into it. Especially now, when it was rare they were alone long enough to get into costume. 

Except this wasn’t really role playing. Her husband was a Congressman. 

Fuck, that was hot. 

Plus, given that their first meeting was in his office the office sex fantasy still came up very, very frequently… 

And these days they got more privacy at work than at home. 

“Let’s not get involved in a sex scandal my first week here.” 

“It’s not a sex scandal when it’s your wife.” 

“I think using government property to have sex on constitutes a sex scandal, even if you are my wife.” 

“Whatever you say, _Congressman Wyatt_.” 

“You know that only turns you on, right?” 

She giggled, moving across the room and sliding between his chair and the desk, leaning back against it and taking his hands. 

“I love you,” she leaned forward, forehead settling against his. “And I’m very, very proud of you.” 

He smiled easily, tugging her and kissing her slowly and thoughtfully while their fingers tangled together. 

She vaguely heard footsteps somewhere, but didn’t register what was happening until: 

“Congressman Wyatt - Oh! Sorry, I’ll…sorry.” 

A door slammed shut and she squawked. 

“But, I locked it - ”

“Two doors, babe.” 

“Ugh,” she groaned. “See my office is way better, we only have to worry about one - ”

“Your office has way more windows and the Oval also has multiple doors so it’s good practice for when I want to come in and have sex with you on the desk.” 

“Oh, I see how it is. My Congressman sex fantasy is a scandal but you wanting to have sex with the President totally does it for you…” 

She started to pull away but he tugged her back between his legs, holding her hips as he kissed her soundly. 

“Every. Time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so, so much for everyone who indulged this and kept reading and took the time to leave some feedback. Words cannot express how much I appreciate it. I really had a lot of fun writing this story and hope you had just as much fun reading it!


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